Never Let Go
by Zephyr26
Summary: My first story! Akuroku romance! Axel is a demon and Roxas is being hunted by the devil. The second they meet, love sparks, but Roxas' past threatens to keep them apart. Slight Clack, Zemyx, etc.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey people! Ally here! So, this is my first story and I love Akuroku. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. **

Roxas

It's September, late into the month. School has already begun and summer is starting to fade away and we're bracing for a cold winter, not that it ever snows in Hikari, Japan. As I sit out on the balcony outside my bedroom, I can hear my brother's muffled voice as he talks to some man. I can see them arguing and Cloud seems really upset.

I sigh and close my eyes, leaning my head back against the railing bars. I hear the front door slam shut and then I can faintly hear Cloud ascending the stairs. I reopen my eyes to find him standing inside the sliding glass doors. He smiles faintly at me before he slides open the door and steps outside, sitting down across from me.

"Who was that?" I ask.

He frowns. "Child support worker."

Now it's my turn to frown. "Why can't they just leave us alone?"

Cloud sighs and rubs his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. "They still think I can't take care of you and myself Rox."

"Cloud, I can take care of myself. I'm not a little kid anymore, I'm fourteen." I argue.

"I know, but… maybe they're right. Maybe it would be better for you to…"

"Don't even say it!" I snap and interrupt him.

He bites his lip and leans closer, using his arm for support on the opposite side of my legs. "Roxas, believe me, I want us to stick together."

"And you said we would." I say my voice quiet now.

"Yeah, I remember, but things have changed." Cloud continues.

"We have a nice house, we're getting child support, we've both got jobs…"

"That's not the point." He interrupts me. I shut my mouth, clenching my teeth. "I can't send you to college so you can get a good job and be set for life."

"It's important that you go to college right now, I still have time to get a scholarship." I remind him.

He smiles slightly and shakes his head. "I'm supposed to take care of you."

"You are, but you can't do that very well if you can't get a better job." I tease.

He laughs and lightly punches my arm, making me laugh a little as well. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." I tell him.

His smile turns sad and he climbs to his knees to wrap me in a hug. I hug him back and swallow hard to suppress any tears that might come. "You're right; we're going to work everything out. We always have." He says.

We've always had to. Ever since our parents died ten years ago every day has been an uphill battle. If we lose, we're split up, it's as simple as that, and when we're all each other has, that's like losing everything.

School isn't fun. I'm extremely smart for my age and the work is just boring. People are forced to wake up early, work for six hours, and learn things that aren't going to apply to real life. It sounds like a waste of time to me. Only four years of high school before I escape Hikari and start my own life. Zack, my brother's boyfriend, can move in with Cloud because I doubt Cloud will want to sell our beachfront property… Actually, maybe I should stick around to make sure they don't have sex. Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

"Oof!" I crash to the floor as a result of hitting a brick wall while lost in my thoughts. I'm slightly dazed for a moment before I am able to look up, and I see not a brick wall, but a tall boy who makes my breath hitch in my throat.

This guy has insanely spiky red, and not orangey red but blood red hair and deep emerald green eyes with upside down teardrop tattoos underneath them. Like I mentioned, insanely tall, about two heads taller than me (damn being short) and he is muscular, yet thin.

Something starts buzzing in the back of my mind and I freeze. I have a bad feeling about this guy.

"I'm sorry." The redhead says as he extends his hand to help me up.

I hesitate before I take it and let him pull me to my feet. "I'm sorry too. Bye." I say quickly before walking past him and making my way down the hall.

The guy must be new. It would take a blind person not to see him.

Axel

I shake my head and watch as blondie walks off. I had been so distracted with actually watching him that I hadn't noticed when he had walked into me, clearly lost in his thoughts. I can't get him out of my head now; the spiky blonde hair, the cute face, the deep blue eyes that could put the sky and water to shame. He looks like an angel, and I can even feel a light in him, something so strong that I've never felt anything like it before. He's different; he's not a normal human definitely.

I snap out of my thoughts and manage to find my way to the main office, where I get my schedule and the vice principal, Mr. Ansem, volunteers to take me to my first class: English with Mr. Dilan. We get there just after the bell rings to signal the start of school and Mr. Ansem leads me into the classroom, where something tugs at the back of my mind, making me look to the far corner at the back of the room. To my surprise, blondie is sitting there, staring back at me in shock.

"Mr. Dilan," Mr. Ansem's voice interrupts my thoughts, "This is Axel Cinder, he's going to be in your class now."

Mr. Dilan nods and the vice principal leaves. "Axel, can you take the seat at the back next to Roxas Strife?"

I notice blondie tense up and I smile. "Alright Mr. Dilan." I say before I saunter over to the empty desk next to the angelic blonde whose name I now know. I drop myself into the seat and smile at him, offering my hand to shake his. "Nice to formally meet you Roxy."

Roxas frowns and slumps in his desk, folding his arms over his chest. "**Don****'****t** call me that." He says coldly.

"Roxas!" Mr. Dilan suddenly yells, making Roxas and me jump. "Pay attention."

Roxas nods and then glares at me before he returns his attention to the lesson. I chuckle under my breath. I just know this is going to be great.

"Axey!" My face suddenly becomes squashed against the tiled floor of the cafeteria in Hikari High School and a heavy weight sits on my back as someone has their arms wrapped tightly around my waist in what is supposed to be a hug, or a glomp in this idiot's case.

"Demyx! Get off of me!" I yell, although my voice is muffled by the floor.

"Demyx, stop acting like a child." Another voice chides.

Demyx giggles before he gets to his feet and pulls me up with him. I turn to face my two friends who moved here with me, Demyx, and his boyfriend Zexion. My eyes quickly become sidetracked though when I see Roxas walk into the cafeteria with a group of people. My eyes follow him to the table he sits at with his friends and then, as if sensing my presence, he turns his head to look at me. I look back at Demyx and Zexion, but they've already caught me.

"Who's that?" Demyx asks excitedly.

"The person we came here to find." I say.

Demyx immediately becomes serious and Zexion folds his arms, looking back at Roxas incredulously. "He's just a kid, there's no way…"

"I can sense the light, trust me. This isn't exactly the kind of thing we should be talking about here though so let me introduce you." I smile slyly as I pull my two friends over to Roxas' table.

When Roxas notices that I'm going over to him, he hangs his head slightly like he's trying to hide. This makes it easy for me to walk up behind him and scare him, making him screech and the whole cafeteria silence. Everyone stares at the two of us for a moment before they get back to chatting and eating.

"Hey Roxy!" I say happily.

He pouts and mumbles something incoherent, turning back to his food and forking it. His pout is too damn adorable!

"Roxas, who's this?" A blonde girl asks. She's practically sitting in a ravenette girl's lap, giving me the assumption that they're dating.

Roxas sighs before he turns slightly to face me. "Guys, this is Axel. He's in my English class and he's new here. Axel, these guys are Namine, Xion, Kairi, and Sora."

Roxas only hangs out with one other boy? Interesting.

"Nice to meet you all. These are my friends Demyx and Zexion. We all moved in together." I explain.

"That's cool. Are you all… together, together?" Sora asks.

Demyx laughs. "With Axel? No way! We're just best friends. Zexy and I are together though!" He throws his arms around his boyfriend and nuzzles his neck.

Zexion blushes slightly. "Not in front of the crowd Demy." He hates his nickname, even more so when Demyx or I call him Sexy Zexy.

I plop myself down in next to Roxas at the table and Demyx and Zexion take the seats next to me.

"Just join us won't you?" Roxas mumbles.

I chuckle and he turns to glare at me.

"So, where did you guys move from?" Kairi asks.

"Tokyo area." Demyx replies.

"Oh, I've always wanted to go there, but my parents won't even take me out of the city." Xion says.

"How come?" Zexion asks.

"They say that Hikari is a nice little city where I'll be 'safe'." She answers, making everyone laugh.

I can't help but get a weird vibe from Roxas' friends, and I know that when I feel vibes like this, there's something different about people. I can definitely sense it in them.

"Axel!" Demyx whacks the back of my head, bringing me back to the conversation.

"What did you do that for!" I ask as I rub the back of my head. He had already tackled me to the floor, what else would he do to cause me bodily harm in the next ten minutes?

"Gee, both you and Roxas are so alike it's crazy. You both go off in your own little world half the time." Xion comments.

I notice Roxas blush slightly and I smile. I ruffle his hair, earning a glare from him. "I guess we are."

Roxas

Axel was in not one, but three of my classes! I only get a break from him during my spare second period. By the end of the day, I can't wait to get away from the redhead and I quickly run out the school gates and begin my walk home, sticking my hands in my pockets and turning my I-pod up so it's blasting in my ears.

I keep seeing him; whenever I let my mind wander, he's the thing that appears. I don't know why I'm thinking about him so much. _Maybe__it__'__s__because__you__like__him!_

I shake my head, getting rid of the thought. Shut up stupid voice in my head! I gasp as someone grabs my arm and pulls me back, right before a truck honks as it speeds by. I realise that I nearly walked right into the street and got killed. I'm breathing heavily as I turn back to face my saviour, only to find that it's Axel.

"Gee Roxas! Don't you know to look both ways!" He yells in panic. Wait, why's he panicking? Maybe because I almost died.

"Uh… Axel… Thanks." I say stupidly. He just saved my life and that's all I can say? _You__could__tell__him__you__love__him!_ Shut up!

I realise that he's still holding onto my arm in an almost bruising grip and I attempt to pull free, only to find that his grip is like a manacle! "Axel, you're kind of hurting me." I say.

He's been off in his own little world and he realises now that his grip on my arm has tightened. He quickly lets go. "Oh, sorry."

I shuffle my feet a little nervously, my mind still ringing and telling me to get away from him while my heart says 'kiss him you fool'.

He finally clears his throat and speaks up. "Do you want me to walk you home in case you decide to walk into anymore busy streets?"

I scoff and turn to walk away. "Goodbye Axel!" I call over my shoulder. I manage to get across the street before I feel something yank one of my headphones away. "Hey!" I turn to find that Axel is listening to my other headphone. He followed me. I frown.

Axel starts bobbing his head to the beat. "Nice taste in music."

I shake my head and start walking again. Axel has to walk next to me to keep the headphones from falling out. "If you follow me home how are you going to get home?" I ask.

"I've been in Hikari for a week now; I think I should know my way around quite well." Axel replies.

"How come you didn't start going to school until today then?"

"I had to get a job first. Plus my brother Reno has the only car so Demyx, Zexion, and I had to wait until he had registered at the university."

"You have an older brother?" I ask, and then I nearly smack myself because I just repeated what he said.

"By one year."

I stop abruptly, making the headphone fall out of Axel's ear as he keeps walking. He stops and turns to face me. "What?" He asks confused.

"How old are you Axel?" I ask.

"Eighteen, why?"

I blink in shock and then shake my head and continue walking. "Fuck."

"Whoa, what's the problem with being eighteen? How old are you?" Axel asks when he catches up to me.

"Fourteen and my brother's going to kill me if I hang out with an eighteen year old. What are you doing in high school anyways?"

"Victory lap. Your brother the overprotective type?"

"Oh and yes." He's the same age as Cloud and I have a crush on him… Wait! I did not think that! I do not have a crush on him!

Axel suddenly smiles suavely and wraps an arm around my shoulders. "I guess I'll have to make a good impression on big bro then."

I feel my face heat up and I push him away. "Yeah, good luck when he's aiming a gun at your chest the second you walk through the door." I say dryly.

"Roxy, I am a natural charmer. Men have no choice but to fall in love with this." He motions to his entire body.

I raise an eyebrow. "Men? And I think a lot of people could resist the 'charm' of an arrogant jerk."

Axel frowns. "Ouch Roxy that hurts, and of course, I'm gay."

"Stop calling me that, seriously." I say, trying to keep annoyance out of my tone.

"Hm, how about Foxy Roxy instead?" He suggests.

I think my face turned about as red as his hair at that. I take off running, which surprises him.

"Roxas! I'm sorry!" Axel calls after me.

I shake my head and keep running. I do **not**, repeat **not**, love that arrogant… Wait, why did I just think love instead of like? Damn it!

I'm so glad when I get home and slam the front door shut behind me, because before I walk into the living room Cloud and Zack are luckily detached from each other, although my brother's hair is a little messy… I drop my bag onto the floor and with a sigh; I slide into the chair next to the couch. Out of the corner of my eye, I can feel the two of them staring at me from the couch.

"What?" I ask testily.

"What happened?" Cloud asked.

"Do we need to go beat someone up?" Zack asks, earning himself a whack upside the head from his boyfriend. "Ow!" He rubs the back of his head and tries to kiss Cloud, who dodges and turns back to me.

"Well?" Cloud presses.

I sigh. "We got a new student at the school and he's just kind of annoying me."

"Whoa, wait, did I hear '**he**'?" Zack checked.

I freeze and bite my lip, silently begging Cloud not to go commando.

"You know, boys at your age often are perverted and just look for a good lay… Ouch!" Zack cries out as I whack his arm this time.

I grin as I pull back. "This isn't a boy at my age, more at yours Zachary." I nearly slap myself after I say that. Stupid!

"Wait a second, so this boy who I'm going to assume likes you is Zack's age?" Cloud asks. Zack's age meaning just a year older than him.

"No, he's yours." I say quietly.

Cloud sighs and shakes his head, turning to his boyfriend. "See why I can't leave this kid alone? Only a month without me and he's already got a stalker."

"Cloud!" I yell. "Axel isn't a stalker!" I can't believe I'm defending him.

"Ooh, so his name's Axel huh?" Zack asks, leaning closer and making me press back into the chair to get further from him. The ravenette receives another hit to the head courtesy of Cloud.

"Look Roxas, older men aren't as mature as they are often made out to be. Take this idiot I call my boyfriend for example. He's like a puppy that needs to be trained." Cloud explains.

"Cloudy!" Zack pouts.

Cloud smiles and kisses him, making the boy smile again. "That doesn't mean I don't love him though." My brother finishes.

I stare at the two, blinking. "So what does this have to do with me?"

Cloud turns back to me. "I'm just saying that you should be careful. You don't know Axel."

"Yeah. Besides, you're practically jailbait." Zack remarks.

I frown at him. "You suck Zack."

He grins. "No, I blow."

Cloud's face turns beet red and I face palm. How on earth did Zack ever get my brother to go out with him?

**So, tell me what you thought. I'll post the second chapter sometime next week so, until then, PEACE OUT!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! So, I wanted to update today because I got my first review yesterday from Corinne15999 and Imma dedicate this chapter to her **

**Disclaimer: I guess I should do one of these… I don't own anything except the ideas. If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would give it to the world so people didn't have to write these stupid things. Love you all!**

**I'm also dedicating this chapter to my grandfather who died two years ago today. He was really an inspiration for me to start writing.**

**So, anyways, onwards with the story!**

Roxas

I was not looking forward to school the next day, but of course, it came. I am forced to sit in English class first thing in the morning right next to the obnoxious redhead who still won't stop calling me Roxy, only now he adds the Foxy a lot of the time. I can barely listen to Mr. Dilan's lesson because of Axel distracting me in one way or another. He's either trying to pass notes to me or talk to me.

"Roxy!" He whispers as loudly as possible.

I keep my eyes on the board, reasoning that if I ignore him, he'll go away. Big mistake on my part evidently when he blows in my ear. I clap my hand over the offended ear. "Holy shit Axel!" I yell.

Mr. Dilan immediately silences and everyone turns to look at me. My face turns red as Axel snickers. Mr. Dilan fumes at me silently. "Roxas Strife, no swearing. Detention. Axel Cinder, no distracting other students." He says briskly before he returns to teaching.

I sink into my seat and glare at Axel. Great, how am I going to explain this one to Cloud?

Anyone could imagine someone's anger at finding the most obnoxious and annoying person in that someone's life sitting at that someone's table with that someone's friends in that someone's spot. Well, this is currently my situation with the initiating redhead as the supporting role.

I glare at Axel as I make my way to the other side of the table, intending to take the only empty seat remaining next to Demyx, when the aforementioned redhead wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me down onto his lap, also earning a yelp of surprise from me.

I twist as I struggle to get out of his iron grip. "Damn it Axel! Don't make me punch you!" I yell at him.

"Aw, Roxy that's cruel." He whispers right into my ear, his warm breath tickling my skin and making me shiver involuntarily.

My friends, if I could even call them that anymore, seem quite amused with the show and Axel's friends are doing no better job at controlling their friend.

Realising that Axel's not going to let me go, I slouch back against his well-muscled chest (I did not just think that) and fold my arms, pouting. His grip relaxes slightly when he realises that I'm not going to fight him.

"So, I hear 'Foxy Roxy' got detention. Bad boy." Demyx grins as he enunciates Axel's nickname for me.

"It's his fault." I grumble.

"Well I had to make sure I wasn't going to be bored in detention somehow." Axel says innocently.

My mouth drops open and I turn back to face him. "That's why you got me in trouble!"

He snickers and kisses my nose, making my face turn redder than his hair. "Yep."

I snarl at him. "Axel, what did you do on your second day here?"

"I set the science lab on fire this morning." Axel replies proudly.

I blink in shock and then turn and refold my arms. "Pyromaniac."

"You know it babe." Axel says.

Oh great, we're moving on to other derogatory names now. Today's going to be a long day.

The remainder of the day was agonizing, and I hadn't even gotten into detention yet. I manage to find the room that I've never had to go to before in my life and I walk inside, finding Axel sitting at the front with his legs propped up on his desk. The teacher, Mr. Braig, looks up at me and stands up.

"Nice of you to join us Mr. Strife. Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have better things to do than to sit here and monitor you two for the next hour." Mr. Braig promptly leaves the room and locks the door behind him, insuring that Axel and I can't escape.

I growl and turn back to face Axel, folding my arms over my chest and glaring at him.

"Might as well come take a seat Roxy, it's going to be a long hour." Axel says reclining back and folding his arms behind his head.

I sigh and take the closest seat to the door, also the farthest one away from him. I rest my chin on my closed fist and stare at the clock, willing time to go by fast. I see Axel get up from his seat out of the corner of my eye and he walks over and sits on top of my desk, also obstructing my view of the clock.

"Do you mind?" I ask coldly.

"Come on, detention is so boring, let's have some fun!" He says.

"That's why you shouldn't get detention and I'm still mad at you so no." I turn around so that I'm sitting sideways in the chair and I fold my arms again, making sure I don't meet his eyes. There's something about this close proximity with him that makes me especially nervous.

I feel his hand slide under my chin and he turns me to face him, which I'm about to protest when I find his lips on mine. My eyes are wide and my jaw has slacked in my shock, but just as quickly as the kiss happened I'm melting into it and my eyes slide closed. I mentally slap myself when I let him kiss me and I'm able to remind myself that I should pull away, which I'm luckily able to follow through with.

I draw in a shaky breath before I face him. "Axel, you can't just do that!"

"Tell me why you hate me." He demands point blank.

My mouth drops open in response. My mind draws a blank suddenly. "What?"

"You act like you absolutely despise me, but the way you let me kiss you for a few seconds there, it didn't seem like it." He explains.

I sigh and run my hand through my hair as I stand up to move away from him. "Axel, I don't… hate you. I just… get a bad feeling about you okay?"

He raises an eyebrow. "A bad feeling?" He stands as well and slowly walks towards me, making me back away. "What exactly do you think that bad feeling is telling you Roxy?"

My back hits the wall and I curse under my breath. How did he manage this?

He stops to stand right in front of me, placing his hands on either side of my head to cage me in. He bends his head slightly to make our eyes level. "Well?"

I swallow hard, my throat feeling raw. My heart is beating rapidly against my chest. "There's something… different about you."

He smirks, which makes me glare at him. "You don't know what makes me different?" He asks.

"Why don't you tell me?" I ask back.

He drops his arms. "Why don't you get to know me so you can figure it out? Want to go for a coffee after this?"

I sigh but my curiosity gets the better of me and I nod. "I'm expecting answers though, not a cappuccino." I say.

He smiles. "I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise Roxy."

I frown. "And please stop calling me that before I am forced to hit you."

"Whatever you say baby." He winks at me and ruffles my hair.

I open my mouth to yell at him but he has already pulled me into his lap in the desk I had previously been occupying. I sigh and shake my head. "You're really pushing it Axel."

"Good, I like pushing the boundaries." I can hear the smirk in his tone. Remind me again why I agreed to go out with him?

Cloud really wasn't happy when I texted him after detention to tell him that I was going out with Axel, especially since I told him that Axel would be driving us around. We had to go to said redhead's house before we went out though because he needed to get his car.

"Roxas!"

"Whoa!" I scream as Demyx jumps onto me and knocks me to the floor as soon as I walk in the door.

Axel sighs and grabs Demyx by the collar of his shirt, yanking him off of me. "Demyx, only I can tackle Foxy Roxy." He chides.

I feel my face heat up at the comment and I keep my head down as I stand and brush myself off.

"Nice to see you again Roxas," Zexion walks into the foyer and leans against the doorframe, "And sorry about my overly childish boyfriend."

I smile, realising that they remind me of Cloud and Zack. "That's okay; my brother's boyfriend is the exact same way."

"Yo, Axel, what the hell is going on out there!" A voice I've never heard before yells from somewhere down the hall.

"Reno! Be nice! We have a guest!" Axel yells back.

Seconds later, a nearly mirror image of Axel walks out into the hall. I'm talking red hair, although it's not as crazy because it's pulled back into a ponytail and tattoos next to his green eyes. He's taller and more built than Axel, which I hadn't thought was possible. I really hate being short right now. He stops and blinks slightly when his eyes catch sight of me, although I don't know why. He starts walking again until he's standing in front of me.

"Hi, I'm Axel's brother Reno." He introduces himself and holds out his hand to shake mine.

"I'm his classmate Roxas." Note, I said classmate, not friend. I offer my hand but he takes me by surprise when he takes my outstretched hand in his and brings it up to his lips, kissing my knuckles lightly and making me blush. I can see Axel fuming out of the corner of my eye. I pull my hand free of Reno's and smile politely. Great, both brothers are weird.

Zexion steps between us all to dispel the tension. "So, you two are still going out?" He asks Axel and me.

"Yeah." Axel says gruffly, grabbing a set of keys off the nearby bowl that rested on a small table, grabbing my hand, and pulling me out of the house. I think he forgot how strong his grip was because he was nearly crushing my hand.

"Axel." I warn.

He seems too caught up in his own thoughts to notice. We get to his car and he opens the passenger door for me, only then letting go of my hand. I flex my throbbing hand and try shaking it to regain feeling before I get into the car.

He sighs when he notices. "Sorry about that." He's so serious now that I wonder how he can be such a joker half the time. He shuts the door and walks over to the driver's side, sliding into his seat and starting up the car. He pulls out of the driveway and takes off down the street.

I notice that his jaw is set and he's gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles are turning white. "Axel?"

He doesn't even seem to hear me; in fact, he seems to be completely focussed on his thoughts. I tear my gaze from him and look out the front windshield, only to find that he's veering off into the opposite lane. "Axel!" I scream, reaching over to grab the steering wheel and turn it.

He finally snaps out of his thoughts and turns the wheel just in time to avoid a truck. He steers us to the side of the road as cars honk at us. He parks and we both relax, letting out heavy breaths.

"What the hell is up with you!" I ask.

He shakes his head and turns to me. "I'm sorry. Reno just aggravates me sometimes."

I finally get it. "Are you seriously upset just because he kissed my hand?"

His eyes move to look anywhere but at me.

"Axel, tell me what's going on or so help me I will get out right now." I demand.

"Okay," He says quietly, "Look Roxas. I like you… a lot."

I feel my heart start pumping in my chest. It's not like I didn't already know that, I mean, he kissed me after all and he's been acting like it for the past two days. I look down. "That's not really what I meant. You're not a body builder, so why are you so strong?"

I feel his eyes rest on me again. He reaches over and rests his hand on my cheek. "I don't really think you want to know. Maybe your bad feeling is right though."

I don't know why, but I jerk my head away, unclip my seatbelt, and get out of his car. I stuff my hands in my pocket as I start heading back home, my mind buzzing. I realise why after the cool air hits me. Axel's not human, in some way, he's not.

Tears sting my eyes. I can't deal with this world again, not after my parents, not after Cloud. Why is nothing in my life normal anymore?

I'm surprised that Axel doesn't follow me, but maybe he's figuring that he should have just left me alone in the first place. I only realise that it's dark out when I get to downtown and I still have a half hour walk home. Not to mention, it's getting colder and I only have my black hoodie. I wrap my arms around myself as my breath materializes in front of me.

"Hey baby."

"Fuck." I swear and my pace quickens. I just know that there's some pervert behind me and I'm really hoping to avoid some sort of confrontation.

I know from the voice that the person was far behind me, so he shouldn't have been able to catch up in a second flat and appear in front of me faster than I can blink. I stop before I crash into a boy with silver hair who's surprisingly, probably only a few years older than me. I quickly take a step backwards but his hand surges out and locks around my wrist. His grip is stronger than normal, sort of like Axel's.

"L-let me go." I try to pull myself free.

He smiles and I notice two fangs, making my eyes widen. "Come on babe, don't be cold." His voice is sickeningly soothing.

I shiver involuntarily. I've been caught by a vampire, this is just great. This is the greatest fucking day of my life.

"You're Roxas Strife," He states, "I've been looking for you." He brings up his free hand and brushes my cheek.

How does he know who I am? Why is he looking for me? A better question, why aren't I still struggling? I pull my head back and try to break free again. This only results in him pulling me into his chest.

"Riku, be a gentleman."

I recognise Axel's voice before I'm jerked back into his body. He wraps his arms around me tightly as he glares at the silverette. "He told you to let him go." Axel says.

Riku smirks. "What are you doing here Cinder? Last time I checked you weren't a guard dog."

Axel sneers at him. "I could ask you the same thing, and last time I checked you were still a perverted jerk. I guess some things never change."

Riku's lip twitches as if he's agitated and then his lips curve upwards into a smile. "Well, it was nice seeing you again but if you'll let me take Roxas, I've got some unfinished business to attend to."

"I don't think he wants to go with you, do you Roxy?" Axel looks down at me in question, a smug smile settled on his face that disappears when he sees what must be unmasked fear on my face.

I shake my head no feverishly and turn to wrap my arms around him. Only then do I realise that I'm shaking. I can't even talk I'm so shaken.

"Right, let's go." Axel says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me away.

I feel Riku move from somewhere in the back of my mind. "Axel!" I yell just as he pushes me behind him and turns to block an attack from Riku. Simultaneously they both have swords and the metal is grinding, creating sparks. Riku's floating lightly off the ground and his eyes have changed to red. Axel's eyes are also red now, but he doesn't have fangs, meaning he's not a vampire.

"Leave before I kill you." Axel says coldly, his voice not even faltering with the threat.

Riku jumps back and lands softly on the ground, his sword disappearing. "Fine, I'll be back when 'Roxy' decides that you're a fate worse than death." He disappears in a cloud of black smoke.

"Fuck." Axel curses under his breath and turns to me, picking me up in his arms bridal style without a word, making me blush, and taking off running faster than anyone should be able to. I have no choice but to wrap my arms around his neck to hold on.

He suddenly stops and I dare to open my eyes again, finding that we're on my street. I look up at Axel and find that he's looking down at me, his face stony. "Axel?"

"I'm sorry Roxas. I shouldn't have come here in the first place. I… attract danger."

I look down. "That makes two of us."

"I'll tell Reno that we should move and we'll be out of your way." He's still holding onto me, like he doesn't want to let go.

"Axel…" I trail off and I almost don't want to admit that I'm going to say what I'm going to say to this jerk. "Can you stay?"

He looks surprised. "Why do you want me to stay? I know you know that I'm not human."

I chew on my bottom lip. "I feel… safe… around you. I have a bad feeling about you but I know that you're not bad."

"Are you sure? I'll go if you want me to."

I nod my head. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Aw, that's so sweet Roxy."

Aaand, cocky Axel's back. I roll my eyes and fold my arms. "Put me down Axel."

"Nah, I don't really want to." He starts walking towards my house and I decide that I'm going to let him get in trouble from Cloud when my brother opens the door and finds me in Axel's arms.

To my surprise, the second Axel comes up to the driveway, Cloud and Zack run out of the house. They both stop the second they see Axel and me.

"Roxas! Get away from him!" Cloud yells.

White, feathered wings grow out of Zack's back and a sword appears in his hand. He flies towards us and Axel is forced to put me down to draw his own sword and block Zack's attack.

"Zack! Stop!" I try to get in between them but Cloud has already grabbed onto my arm and is holding me back. I look back and find that Cloud also has white, feathered wings. "Cloud, please." I beg. I rarely see him with wings, but I have before, so it's not a shock.

"Roxas, you have to stay away from him. He's a demon." Cloud tells me.

My eyes widen and Axel falters, enabling Zack to hit him and send him flying. Without a second thought, I break out of Cloud's grasp and run towards Axel, jumping in front of him and spreading my arms out to defend him. Then the thought comes back. He's a demon?

"Roxas, get back." Zack orders.

I shake my head. "Look, Axel saved me earlier. He's not a bad demon."

Cloud and Zack share a look and their wings disappear, although Zack keeps his sword at his side. I turn to help Axel back to his feet and he gives me a thankful smile. Angels and demons don't exactly mix.

"So, this is Axel huh?" Cloud asks, folding his arms over his chest.

I look back at the redhead cautiously. "Yeah. Axel, this is my brother Cloud and his boyfriend Zack."

Axel takes a step forward, grinning, and offers his hand to shake theirs. "Nice to meet you both."

Cloud and Zack look at him with hostility, neither extending their hands to greet Axel. I shuffle my feet, the tension is extreme. Cloud finally sighs and steps forward, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Well thanks for getting him home Axel. See you around, I guess."

Axel nods and looks at me. "See you at school." He turns and runs off, here one second, gone the next.

I swallow hard before I turn back to face Cloud. He's staring at me with hard eyes. "Roxas, you need to tell me exactly what happened."

**Lol, I love Axel getting poor Roxy detention. I'm not really a major Riku hater… I just don't like him very much. And what's this! Did I forget to mention in the summary that there would be a love triangle! Whoops, oh well. Everyone is in love with Roxas. Anyways, I'll update again soon **


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three! Ya'll should go check out my Christmas story cause it's Akuroku and it's been pretty popular. Anyways, I'm done advertising for myself ;)**

**Disclaimer: Me no own, Square Enix own. Simple and Clean enough? :P**

**Enjoy!**

Axel

I park the car in the driveway and get out, locking it and quickly walking inside. The second I get in the front door, Demyx, Zexion, and Reno are all standing in the hallway.

"So, how did things go?" Zexion asks.

I sigh. "Riku found him."

Reno's eyebrow rises. "Riku's here and he knows about him?"

"Yeah, which can only mean that Xemnas and Sephiroth know too." I say.

Zexion shakes his head slowly. "Fuck."

"So what do we do?" Demyx asks.

"We protect him obviously." Reno says with a 'duh' tone.

"He might as well know what you guys are then too because his brother told him what I am." I add.

"Just do whatever you have to do to make him and his brother trust us." Reno ordered.

"Uh, there's a problem with that. Both his brother and his brother's boyfriend are angels." I tell him.

Zexion smirks. "You're in deep shit Ax."

I laugh coldly at that. "Thanks for your encouragement."

Zexion grins and pulls Demyx upstairs to go to bed, leaving Reno and me alone.

He stares at me, his face expressionless for a few silent moments and I stare right back. I'm finally the one to break the silence. "Stay away from Roxas."

He smirks. "You can't tell Roxas who he can or cannot hang out with Axel, that's his decision. It's his decision who he likes."

I sneer at him, my fists trembling at my sides. I stiffly push myself forward and walk past him, making sure to bump his shoulder as I do. Reno and I may be the only family we have left, but we haven't gotten along in decades, ever since we became demons actually, two hundred years ago.

Roxas

For the first time ever, I actually can't wait to get to school. Now that I know what Axel is, I have a lot of questions for him. I get to school early, hoping to find him and talk to him before class starts. I run into Sora and Kairi though. They're holding hands and going off about how they thought they saw an overly large bat on their date last night. I keep looking over their shoulders for spiky red hair or even a blonde mullet, but neither appear. Zexion's hair style isn't exactly that noticeable.

"Roxas?"

I come back to reality and look at Sora, who's staring at me. Kairi is looking back, probably searching for whatever she thinks I was.

"What's up with you?" Sora asks.

"Uh, well…" I try to come up with an excuse. I need to retain some semblance of a reputation at school and that means that I can't let people know I like Axel, yet at least. Kairi looking over my shoulder catches my eye and just as I turn around to see what she's looking at, arms wrap around my waist and a head nuzzles into my neck, making me freeze. I can see red spikes dangling around me and I realise that it's the redhead I've been looking for.

"Aw, you two are too cute." Kairi says with a grin.

"Thank you Kairi. Good morning Roxy." Axel greets.

I smirk. "Morning Axel." I twist out of his embrace to face him. "Can we talk?"

He nods and wraps an arm around my shoulder, pulling me off down the hall. I wave goodbye to Kairi and Sora before we turn a corner.

We go out to the back of the school and sit on an isolated bench, not that the field isn't empty at this time. Again, I somehow end up in his lap.

"So, you're a demon huh?" I start.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you and I guess I kind of freaked you out in the car." He apologises.

I lean back against his chest. "So, did you know that I knew you weren't human?"

"Actually, no. I had no idea you were as close to the supernatural world as you are. How come Cloud's an angel and you're not?"

I tense up at that question and he feels it. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to." He adds.

I nod. "So are Reno, Demyx, and Zexion demons too?"

"Reno is. Demyx is a merman and Zexion is a ghost."

"Okay, so what kind of… powers do you have?"

"Superhuman speed, agility, and strength. I can grow demon wings. I also have telekinesis, and darkness and fire manipulation." Axel lists off his abilities proudly.

"And why are you here?"

I feel Axel stiffen at that and I look back at him. He watches me sadly. "Your friends and your brother never told you did they?"

I blink. "What? What are you talking about?" None of that made any sense.

"Roxas, there's some kind of light in you and it's weird for a human to have that. It naturally attracts supernatural creatures. Reno, Demyx, Zexion, and I assume that since you're so special, Sephiroth, the devil, is going to come after you. Since Riku already did, then it means he's found you." He explains.

"Wait, so what does this have to do with Cloud and the others?" I ask confused.

"Your brother's an angel, Zack's an angel, and your friends are supernatural creatures. I would have assumed at least one of them would have told you."

"Wait, you mean Sora, Kairi, Xion, and Namine?" I confirm.

He nods. "A werewolf, an elf, a vampire, and another elf." He tells me.

I feel sick all of a sudden, sick that I never noticed it before. I've been friends with Sora, Kairi, Namine, and Xion since grade eight, and I didn't realise this? I dip my head down until my mouth is hidden by the collar on my jacket. "Why wouldn't they tell me?"

"Maybe because they thought they were protecting you from this world." Axel suggests.

What am I? A damsel in distress? I don't need this constant protection from everyone! I break out of Axel's arms and stand up, angrily marching towards the school. I feel Axel grab my hand and his grip stops me. I turn back to face him, seeing a wry smile on his lips.

"Roxas, they're your friends. They would have told you if they had thought it would do you any good. They know the supernatural world is dangerous, and I know you do too." Axel says.

I look away to avoid his gaze. He steps closer and wraps his arms around me; planting a kiss on my forehead and succeeding in making my face flush slightly, luckily only slightly.

"Don't worry about it. Frowning ruins your pretty little face." He says jokingly.

I pull back and punch his arm, hard, but he barely flinches and instead laughs. "You're such a jerk." I mumble.

"Yeah, but I'm your jerk." He teases, leaning down to kiss me again.

I duck out of the way and take off towards the school. I can hear him snicker before he chases after me, luckily at human speed. Even so, it all makes me feel a rush, like I'm playing a sort of dangerous game, and Axel is my one way ticket to excitement and rebellion. It feels… exhilarating.

I guess my life has always been a dangerous game. I've been close to the supernatural ever since I was four, but now, I feel like I'm fully in it. My brother's an angel, my friends are elves, a werewolf, and a vampire, and the guy I'm in love with is a demon. I know I'm not that normal myself to begin with. I have some sort of supernatural sensor, but I mostly ignore it because I'd rather not get mixed up in the world anymore than I already am. But with Axel, I feel like I need to.

Axel drops his second period class for a spare, meaning that we do have the whole day together now. For our spare, he takes me out for that coffee we never got last night, although since I don't drink coffee I get a hot chocolate instead. We go to a park that's kind of in the middle of nowhere and sit on the swings as we drink our hot beverages.

I wrap my arms around the chains and hold my half empty hot chocolate in both hands, swinging lightly and thinking. "So, how did you and Reno become demons?"

He chuckles. "You're just full of questions aren't you?"

I smile slightly. "Well, the whole point of the coffee last night was to get to know you."

"Right, I forgot. Well, two hundred years ago Sephiroth found us. Back then, Reno and I were already mixed up in the supernatural world as hunters. He thought we had a lot of skill so he turned us into demons, but he wasn't planning that we weren't going to side with him. We never made a deal with him, so he could in no way tie us to him. Demyx and Zexion had been turned at the same time basically so we all got together and became a sort of family." He explains.

"What about your parents?"

"They died when we were younger, way before we were turned." He replies with an emotionless tone.

I nod. "I'm sorry." Hearing the name Sephiroth even twice in the past two days is making me remember everything even more, and then with Axel's story being so close to mine, it's bringing back a lot of bad memories.

"Parents weren't the way they are now anyways. Mine were never the greatest." Axel says dismissively.

"You shouldn't take them for granted either way." I scold, sounding way colder than I had intended.

He looks over at me. "You sound like you're talking from experience. Any particular reason Cloud takes care of you?"

I swallow hard, my throat raw. "My parents died a long time ago too."

He reaches over and takes my hand in his. "Want to talk about it?"

I shake my head no. "It's not really a nice story. To tell you the truth though, Sephiroth knows where Cloud and me have been for a long time."

His eyes widen. "Roxas, what do you mean?" I can feel the worry in his tone.

"I can't go through it again." I say quietly.

Everything is silent for a minute, and that minute goes by agonizingly slow. He finally gets up and moves to stand in front of me. "Roxas, I care about you more than anything," I look up at him, finding that his face is completely serious, "You can talk to me about anything and I'm going to be here for you no matter what. I'll protect you from Sephiroth and Riku or anyone else who tries to hurt you." He crouches down so that we're eye to eye and he cups my cheek in his hand, smiling at me. I manage a small smile back and lean into his touch.

Who cares about my reputation anymore? Axel may be a jerk sometimes but if he can be this deep and sincere, that's more important. I will tell him what happened eventually, but I'm not even ready to think about it again yet. "Thank you Axel. You don't know how much that means to me. I'm going to be here for you too." I say.

He leans in and pecks me on the nose quickly before he pulls me out of the swing. "Come on, we'd better get back to school. Maybe after we could do something?" He asks.

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you, Axel Cinder, asking me out on a date?"

He smirks. "Well I've already kissed you so aren't we already technically dating?"

"Not until you impress Cloud." I say with a wicked smile.

He pouts. "But that will never happen!" He protests.

I kiss his cheek and skip away, dropping my hot chocolate into a garbage can. "I guess you can't take me on that date then." I sing. I then yelp as I'm knocked to the ground. I roll over with difficulty and find that Axel is straddling me and grinning evilly.

"Come on Foxy Roxy, this wasn't a proper date." He says teasingly.

My face reddens slightly. "Well of course not with you knocking me to the ground."

He smirks and gets off me. Before I can get up, he's picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder.

I try to keep from laughing. "Axel! Let me go!" I hit his back lightly, even though I know that this probably isn't even like a flick to him.

"Nope. I'm kidnapping you for this date now." He says, starting to walk.

"We have to go back to school first." I remind him.

"Oh yeah." He puts me down and grabs onto my hand, pulling me along. "We'll resume that after school."

I grin at him. "You'll have to catch me first."

"Like that'll be a challenge." He laughs.

I frown and punch his shoulder. "No fair, you can't use your powers."

He laughs. "Whatever you say Roxy."

When Axel said: "We'll resume that after school" he meant it. We got out to the front of the school and he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, while Sora, Kairi, Xion, and Namine were standing right there.

"Ax!" I whine.

Namine giggles. "Are you two going out yet or what?"

"After I talk to Cloud and get his blessing, yes." Axel replies.

"Aw, good luck to you then." Xion says.

"Axel, put me down right now or so help me…"

"Well, nice talking to you guys but I've got to get going before Roxy here gets mad." Axel interrupts me and turns to walk away.

"Bye." Sora waves to me with a small, albeit forced smile on his face. What's up with that?

I wave to them and then begin to struggle in Axel's grip.

We arrive at my house quickly, and I'm still over Axel's shoulder. He finally puts me down on the driveway and I brush myself off, glaring at him. "You're such a jerk. I can walk you know."

"Yeah, I know, but I promised that we would resume that." He winks at me.

I roll my eyes and lead us up to the front door, opening it for Axel.

"Aw, you're such a gentleman." He teases, ruffling my hair.

I smirk and step inside after him, throwing my bag down on the nearby bench. "Why thank you sir." I say sarcastically. "Cloud, I'm going out with Axel!" I yell.

In a second flat, he's standing in front of me, like he appeared from nowhere, and I would have assumed that was there not a rush of air from him running at super speed to get to me. He's looking down at me with his arms folded. "What do you mean, 'going out'?" He asks, sending a chilling look at Axel, who I see briefly shy away before he steps up confidently.

"He means that as long as it's okay with you we're just going to go on a date around town, probably to dinner and a movie, and then I'm going to drop him off at a respectable time that you agree with since it is a Friday night. What would you say to ten?" Axel explains.

Cloud glares at him for a few silent, tense moments before he looks down at me and sighs. "Fine, ten sounds great. If anything happens on this date though I will hunt you down Axel."

Axel salutes him. "Yes sir, you're the boss."

I roll my eyes, grab Axel's hand, and pull him out the door. "Bye Cloud."

Axel chuckles as we walk down the driveway and begin down the street. I let go of his hand and huff, folding my arms over my chest and pouting. "He treats me like a child. I am not five years old."

He only laughs harder at this as he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me in close to him so he can nuzzle his face into my hair. "You are too cute when you pout."

I blush slightly but don't try to get away from him.

Roxas: Ouch Axel, that hurt when you tackled me *pouts*

Axel: Don't blame me, it's all Zephyr's fault!

Zephyr: *innocently starts to whistle but fails because she can't whistle* There is a halo above my head!

Cloud: *rolls eyes* Yeah, and Axel doesn't look like a red Sonic the Hedgehog.

Axel: -_- You all suck.

Roxas: *makes pouty face* Zephyr will be really sad if she gets no reviews so please review!

Zephyr: *giggles* I always wanted to do one of these random thingies at the end of the chapter where the characters talk *doesn't know what they're called if anything*

Roxas, Axel, and Cloud: *sweat drop*


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay my wonderful readers, here is chapter four! This is the first date between Axel and Roxas and you get to hear a little about Roxas and Cloud's past so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.**

Roxas

Where does Axel take me to first? Well he decides that we should eat and he drags me to a somewhat fancy restaurant, which I hadn't expected at all. I didn't want him to be using a whole load of money on this date so I try to dissuade him but he's stuck on this place so now I'm stuck trying to pick out the least expensive thing on the menu.

Axel's resting his elbow on the table and his chin on his fist. He smiles wryly as he watches me scan the menu. "I never thought you were so picky Roxy."

I sigh and close the menu, putting it down. "You clearly know somehow what's here, so tell me what the cheapest thing is and I'll get it."

He shakes his head. "That's not the point of a date. I asked you out so I'm allowed to spend however much money I please on you."

"Still, it makes me feel like you're trying to buy me." I complain as I sink back into the chair and fold my arms.

"Why would I try to buy you? I get people to fall for my charms remember?"

I scoff. "Look, Axel, I don't know how much money you, Reno, Demyx, and Zexion make, and I don't want you to take pity on me or anything, but Cloud and I don't have a whole lot of money and I don't like to pay obscene amounts of money for anything, even when someone else is paying."

"How can you and Cloud be poor when you own such a huge house?" Axel questions confused.

"My parents bought the house before they even had Cloud so the mortgage has been paid off by now and it's just easier to stay here." I answer.

"I see. Well you could just get bread and water then." He suggested.

I raise an eyebrow and open my menu again. "You're no help."

"Roxas, it's my treat and I'm telling you that you can get whatever you want." He argues.

I groan and drop the menu onto the table, bringing my hands up to my eyes and rubbing them. "Okay, truth be told, I'm kind of nervous. This is my first date ever."

Axel smirks. "There you go. Don't worry about it babe, just let me take the lead."

I drag my hand down my face. "You take the lead with everything anyways so feel free."

He laughs. "Just pick something to eat already so you don't hold the whole restaurant up."

I laugh sarcastically as I decide on something and the waiter comes and takes our order. I've never been to a restaurant before, so I find the wait for our food rather tedious. Once it comes though, I happily dig in and find that it tastes really good.

Axel watches me eat, barely touching his own food. I glare at him and put my fork down. "What?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "I'm still just trying to figure you out. It's really been bugging me, how you mentioned that Sephiroth knows where you and Cloud have been this whole time. I'm trying to decide what you mean by that."

I look down at my food and pick up my fork again, but now my stomach is unsettled and I simply end up forking my food.

"You know, I told you about my past. I'm not going to force you, but you could go as far as you like." He says.

"Are we seriously talking about this in the middle of a restaurant where people will think we're crazy?" I ask.

He sighs and starts eating again. "I guess you're right, just promise you'll tell me even a little. Demyx, Zexion, and I can't protect you from Sephiroth if we don't know anything about what happened with him before."

I notice that he hadn't mentioned Reno, but I choose to ignore it. "Fine, but thanks for making me lose my appetite." I complain bitterly.

He smiles and picks up a chunk of noodles in his fork from my plate. "Alright, open your mouth."

I growl at him and stubbornly shut my mouth. I am **not** going to sink so low as to let him feed me! I should have drawn the line at all of the derogatory nicknames, not that he's going to quit calling me 'Roxy', 'Foxy Roxy', 'Babe', or 'Baby' anytime soon even if I clearly tell him that I don't want him to.

He raises an eyebrow and leans across the table, cupping my face in one hand and kissing me on the lips. In my surprise, my lips part and he pulls away, quickly shoving his fork into my mouth. His cocky smile returns and he pulls his fork away as I glare at him and chew.

As soon as I swallow, I shake my head. "I still don't know why I agree to this date. And don't say it's because of your 'charm'."

"Fine, that kiss just proved it." He leans back satisfactorily.

My face heats up. "W-What do you mean?"

"You agreed because you really do like me, no matter how much you pretend that you don't." He concludes.

I let out a breath of air and blow my bangs back, digging my fork back into my food. "Maybe if you weren't such a jerk half the time then I would admit it."

"I wouldn't be Axel though if I wasn't a jerk." He winks at me.

"Maybe you could at least stop with the 'Roxy' and the 'Foxy Roxy' then?" I try, hoping and pleading that it will work.

"Aw, but those are such cute nicknames Foxy Roxy." He pouts.

I roll my eyes. "Again, you're pushing it Ax."

"You know, Demyx calls me Axey, you could call me that." He offers.

"Nah, I'm not going to just to piss you off. See how you like it." I say, hoping it will work.

"Good luck with that. You would never be able to piss me off with anything you say."

"Wow Axel that sounded really kind of lovesick. That's profound for you." I remark.

"Good to know that I can impress my Roxy."

I frown at the possessiveness in that sentence. "And that's another step back."

His mouth suddenly drops open. "What! Why! What did I do!"

I snicker and begin to eat again. "I'll let you suffer to figure it out."

Axel spends the rest of dinner trying to figure out what he's done wrong this time and even afterwards, he's still racking his brain trying to think of it. He's not lost in his thoughts like I've seen him before though and he leads me to the park for the remainder of our date. We sit on the swings like last time.

"Okay, so I'm going to take a break from trying to figure out what I did wrong while you tell me what you feel like telling me." He orders.

I sigh. "Fine…" I trail off, half hoping he's going to decide to do something other than listen to my painful childhood, half thinking about exactly what happened myself.

"Roxas?"

I snap out of my thoughts and look at Axel, who's looking… concerned I guess. "Yeah?"

"If you don't want to tell me, then just give me an idea of… Well, anything that might help." He says softly.

I feel a little less pressured at that. "Well, I guess my parents knew I was different when I was born. They were completely normal, but they still knew the supernatural world well. They were friends with Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos and they introduced Cloud and me to Zack through them. After my parents died, they kind of took over caring for us and they covered some child support costs and whatnot. Cloud asked them to turn him into an angel so he could protect me better, and they did. I only found out after and I hated him for the longest time for doing something so stupid."

Tears are forming in my eyes now and I have to break off the story. I rub my eyes and take a few deep breaths. Axel rests an assuring and comforting hand on my shoulder.

Angeal and Genesis are archangels and they had been good friends with Sephiroth before he became what he is now. How my parents knew them to begin with, they won't tell me.

I calm down some and Axel's hand moves from my shoulder to take my hand in his. "I tried to convince them to turn me into an angel too, but they wouldn't no matter how much I begged. I guess I just got mad at everyone after that."

"I'm sorry about everything, but it still doesn't tell me anything about Sephiroth." Axel reminds me.

I nod. "I know. That's the part I like talking about the least. I guess, whatever is different about me, Sephiroth sensed it too. Apparently he visited my parents the night I was born, trying to get them to give me to him with whatever deals he could come up with, but they still refused. I guess you would know that he always gets his way though. He came four years later and killed them."

I see his eyes widen out of the corner of my eyes. "Roxas, I-I'm so sorry." He apologises.

He stands and moves out in front of me, pulling me off of the swing and into a hug. I hesitate a moment before I hug him back, burying my face in his shoulder. I've always hated this story, no matter how many times I told it, it never got any easier. That's not even all of it, and I can tell that Axel knows that.

He pulls back, resting his forehead against mine. "Rox, I promise that I'm not going to let Sephiroth hurt you anymore. I'll do whatever it takes to destroy him."

I pull back slightly and shake my head. "You know you can't, he's too strong."

"I don't care. Everyone has a weak spot; I've just got to find it. I'll do anything for you Roxas. I love you."

I freeze up at the statement. He didn't really just say that. I completely pull away this time and take a few steps back. "Ax, you don't mean that."

He looks bewildered. "Of course I do Roxas."

"We met like, three days ago. You barely know me. You can't just throw those three words around so lightly." I say harshly, partially because my own heart is aching.

"Trust me, after living for two centuries, I know what those three words mean." Axel protests.

"But you don't know how to use them." I argue.

His face grows slightly cold. "What are you going to do then? Ignore the feelings I know you have?" He asks bitterly.

"No." I pause and then let out a sigh and continue. "I'm just trying to make sure both of us don't get hurt. Love is something you feel after you know a person completely even without knowing everything about them. We don't have that yet Axel."

He studies me for a moment, neither of us breaking our gaze. "You're really serious about that."

I snort and turn away, ready to leave. I get that he's not that broken up about his family dying, but I am. I feel him grab my wrist and he stops me.

"I didn't mean it like that," He states apologetically, "I guess you're right though. I know it's hard to trust people, but I know in my heart that I love you, and nothing is ever going to change that, no matter what you or anyone else says."

I pull my hand away lightly and turn back to face him. "I don't want us to be completely oblivious going into this. Just give it some time, like a normal relationship."

"Okay, I can respect that." He agrees nodding.

I let out a silent sigh. "Okay, good. We should probably get home."

He looks at his watch and nods tiredly. I can feel that this isn't the way he was expecting the date to go. He takes my hand and leads the way back to the car. The whole ride home, I'm wondering if I really did do the right thing when I know that I feel the same way and always will.

Axel dropped me off and the entire walk up my driveway and into the house, I couldn't look back at him. I close the front door as silently as possible and try to sneak upstairs, but realise when I feel a gust of air behind me that I haven't managed to be as discreet as I had hoped. I freeze on the fourth step and turn around, my hand resting on the railing. Cloud and Zack are standing at the bottom of the staircase, looking up at me with discernable expressions.

"How was your date?" Cloud asks.

"It was… fine." I reply, keeping it safe.

"Just fine? Did he do anything?" Zack asks.

My face twists into disgust. "God Zackary, no!" I stomp upstairs, feeling angrier than I should. I also feel bad for yelling at Zack but that's beside the point.

I get to my door before I can sense Cloud at the top of the stairs. "Roxas?" He speaks cautiously but firmly to get my attention.

I sigh and turn to face him. "What?"

"What happened that's bugging you?" He asks with concern.

I look down to avoid his gaze. "He told me that he loves me."

"What!" I hear Zack's yell at the same time as Cloud's. My brother briefly glances back at the stairs and then turns back to me. "What did you say back?" He asks.

"I told him that it's way too early to feel that way for both of us and that we should get to know each other better first."

He smiles, like he's proud of me, but probably a bit of that pride is his own since he's assured now that Axel and I won't be doing anything for a long time, surely long enough for him and Zack to attempt to break us up. "That's a smart decision Rox."

"It doesn't feel like it." I mumble.

He frowns at that. "You mean you already like him back?"

"Sort of." I reply.

His eyes bug out. "You **love** him back?"

I hesitate, briefly wondering if he'll search Axel out to kill him or he'll put me under house arrest. After my mind makes itself up, I decide that a nod of my head is good enough.

He lets out a breath and runs his hand through his air. "Well, I'm glad you're going to wait to make sure."

I nod again. "I'm really tired so I'm going to go to bed."

He pauses, studying me. "Are you feeling alright?"

I feel like breaking down crying but I don't. I don't want Cloud to know how weak I really am. I have to be strong for him. I nod and walk into my room, silently shutting the door. I wait until I hear Cloud walk downstairs before I walk out onto the balcony and close the door, sinking to the ground with my back against the railing and letting tears fall down my cheeks. I didn't think it would hurt so much to say that I didn't love Axel, but now my heart feels like it's been stabbed and the knife just keeps twisting and piercing deeper. I place my hand over my heart and clutch my shirt tightly there, trying to get rid of the pain. I really did do the wrong thing this time.

****

**Zack has such a dirty mind XD but we all love him. Please review and I'll try to update ASAP!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 is here peoples! I don't know how often I'm going to be able to update for the next couple of weeks cause it's the end of the semester and therefore exam and summative time so I'm pretty busy but I'll do my best.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but I will make it my life goal to try :P**

Axel

I pull into the driveway and park the car, sitting in silence and darkness for countless minutes. _"You can't just throw those three words around so lightly."_ Roxas was right. Who was I kidding? He's fourteen and I'm eighteen, I can't just say that and expect him to tell me he loves me back. I sigh and pull the keys out of the ignition, getting out of the car and locking it.

I walk up to the front door and step inside. The hall and foyer are dark. I walk into the kitchen and pull open the fridge, taking one of Reno's bottles of beer and uncorking it. I'm ready to chug it down when I feel someone in the kitchen with me and I sigh, shutting the fridge door and turning around to find Demyx standing behind me, his arms folded with a disappointed scowl on his lips.

"Axel, don't you dare." He commands.

"Dem, I can't get drunk remember? It doesn't matter." I state.

He rolls his eyes, stalks over, and pulls the beer out of my hand. "Okay, what happened?"

I rub my eyes and drag my hand down my face. "I told him I love him and he couldn't say it back." Demyx hits me upside the back of my head. "OW! What the hell Dem!" I yell.

"You're an idiot. Roxas is a sensitive kid and he doesn't need you fucking up his life."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that." I reply dryly.

His face softens. "So what are you going to do now?"

I smile. "Well, although Roxas did refuse to tell me he loves me, **yet**, we're going to get to know each other, which will involve dates and spending lots and lots of time with him."

Demyx rolls his eyes. "Now there's the Axel I know."

I reach over and grab the beer out of his hand, taking a drink of it before he can take it back. He sighs and shakes his head. "Sometimes I wonder why you call **me** the child."

I raise my eyebrow. He seriously just said that.

Roxas

I go to school early on Monday just to avoid another awkward conversation with Cloud. The whole weekend was kind of quiet and strained at best. Cloud and I barely talked and all we did was spend the whole time with Zack.

When I get there, the school is practically empty. I find a tree and sink to the ground with my back against the trunk, bringing my knees up to my chest and resting folded arms across them. I watch people walk by to get to the school until I'm nearly falling asleep. Through half lidded eyes, I see two pairs of feet step into view.

I reopen my eyes and rub them, looking up to find Sora and Xion. My stomach churns as I remember that they never told me the truth about them, but I manage to put on a false smile. "Hey guys."

Sora folds his arms. "Roxas, we need to talk."

I swallow hard. "Okay."

"Look, we think you should stop hanging out with Axel." Xion states pointedly.

I blink in shock. That was unexpected. "Why is this suddenly coming up?"

"Well…" Sora throws an uncertain glance at Xion, and then looks back at me. "He's dangerous. I know you know that."

My eyes narrow at him. "I know some things, not a lot of things evidently." I push myself to my feet and attempt to walk past them, but I feel one of them catch my arm in a strong grip to stop me. I whirl around to find that it's Xion.

"Roxas, could you just listen to us on this one? Axel's not safe; you don't know anything about him." She warns.

"I don't know a lot about you guys either now do I?" I ask coldly.

Both of them freeze and look at each other, then back at me. "How much did he tell you?" Sora asks.

"More than enough." I pull my arm free from Xion's slack grip and walk towards the school without missing a step. Again, I feel bad because I've let my anger get the better of me. What's wrong with me?

There was one thing I had forgotten over the weekend: I have to spend my whole day with Axel. He's going to notice something is bugging me. I walk into class just before the bell and take my seat next to him. I pull out my binder and a pen and rest it on the desk in front of me. I can feel Axel staring at the board and although I'm glad he hasn't turned his attention to me, I also feel slightly hurt by it. Now I definitely feel like I made the wrong decision.

I can't work for the rest of class, I just kind of sit there, staring at my notes and hoping my work will do itself. Or maybe my whole life can just fuck itself over already. When the bell rings, I barely notice, but Axel taps my shoulder, snapping me out of my trance. I look up at him and find that he looks kind of awkward.

"So, um, what do you want to do for spare?" He asks, running his hand through his hair.

"We could go out for an early lunch." I suggest.

He smiles. "Perfect."

He turns to leave and I hesitate for a second before I get up and follow him out. We leave the school and head into town, walking in silence the whole way. I begin to shudder and shake from the cold halfway through. Winter is truly starting to come through.

Axel notices me shaking and pulls his jacket out of his bag, draping it over my shoulders. I turn to him and find him wearing only a t-shirt. "Aren't you cold?" I ask.

He looks at me like I'm crazy. "Rox, I'm a demon remember?"

I roll my eyes. "People are going to know you're weird when it's the middle of winter and you're not wearing a jacket."

He grins. "I'll wear a jacket when it comes to that time then. Until that time though, you're the one who needs it."

I blink and then turn my gaze to the ground. I can't believe that's the first conversation we've had for two days. "Axel, I'm really sorry about Friday." I mumble.

"You don't need to be. It was a stupid thing for me to say. You're right, we need to work on our relationship before we go all 'Twilight'."

I raise my eyebrow at him. "There is no way I'm Bella." I say sternly.

He breaks out laughing at that. "Not even close Roxy! You're way cuter."

I blush slightly. "Thanks, I guess. You're way hotter than Edward." I nearly face palm. Did I just say that?

His smile widens and he pulls me into a crushing embrace. "Aw! Thanks Foxy Roxy!"

I notice people staring at us now. "Ax, people are watching." I warn. Completely mortifying, him screaming my nickname to the world just then.

He lets me go. "You're so cute when you get embarrassed."

"Ax." I warn, a blush creeping back onto my cheeks.

"And your little blush." He adds, making me blush harder and glare at him. "And don't even get me started on the glare." Now I'm pouting. "Or your pout."

"AXEL CINDER YOU'RE DEAD!" I yell.

He runs off cackling as I chase after him, ready to beat his head in. At least now things are back to normal. As long as he doesn't hate me, everything's fine.

I don't know why things were ever even awkward in the first place. Over lunch, Axel and I find that we're getting along normally and we just talk and spill all of our secrets, well, basically. My past is still an off limits topic. We head back to school for the afternoon and then afterwards, he offers to drive me home.

He pulls his car into my driveway and parks it. I unbuckle my seatbelt and flash him a smile. "I'm glad things worked out today. I was worried that you hated me."

He scoffs. "Yeah, like I could ever hate you." There's a smirk on his lips and I immediately regret saying anything.

I lean back in the seat and fold my arms. "Jerk."

"You love it." He teases, planting a kiss on my cheek.

I damn my heart when my impulses take over and I reach up, grabbing his face before he can lean away and pulling him in for a kiss. Once our lips meet, he's shocked, but I'm kissing him, moving my mouth against his. He smiles against my lips and starts kissing me back, delving his tongue into my mouth.

In a way, I can't believe I'm doing this. It feels so wrong and so right at the same time. Why didn't I ever kiss him sooner?

I'm left breathless when he's the one to pull away, mostly for air. He has this grin on his face that isn't cocky for once, it's sincere. "Wow Roxy, I didn't think you could kiss back, or that you had the guts to initiate a kiss."

I feel my face heat up and I sneer at him. "Jerk." I open the passenger door and climb out, slamming it shut and walking towards the house, giving him a slight wave over my shoulder. I'm smiling though as I walk into the house and when I close the door, I watch him leave through the barely transparent window. I let out a sigh of pleasure and shake my head slowly. Yeah, this feels right.

Now that I'm not in a bad mood, I figure that I should confront Sora, Xion, Namine, and Kairi. I find them before school the next day and start to make my way over to the tree they're sitting under when I'm intercepted by Demyx and Zexion.

I look up at them. "Hey guys."

"Roxas, we need to talk." Zexion says.

I frown. Why does everyone need to talk to me lately? "I'm kind of doing something at the moment, can't it wait?"

"Come on Roxy, this is important!" Demyx complains.

I pout, thinking the same thing about what I was supposed to be doing before I follow them. They lead me to the back field of the school, which is completely empty. "Okay, so what is this about?" I ask.

"Axel told us what happened between the two of you last week." Zexion says bluntly.

"Yes, but it's all fine now." I assure him.

"Listen Roxas, Axel's never fallen this hard. We're his best friends and we don't want him to get hurt." Demyx says.

I nod. "I understand, but that's exactly what I was trying to prevent. I don't want either of us to get hurt for rushing into this."

"Yes, but that's not particularly what we're worried about. Axel can live forever, but we're not too sure if you can." Zexion tells me.

I blink in shock. I had forgotten about that kind of factor. I don't know exactly what my not-true-humanity grants me. Well, so far it hasn't granted me anything except trouble.

"Just… be really careful about this whole thing okay?" Demyx asks, flashing me a smile.

"Yeah, of course." I agree.

They say goodbye, Demyx gives me a hug, and they leave. I stand frozen in the middle of the field, contemplating. Maybe I should try asking Angeal and Genesis to make me an angel again.

Since Zexion and Demyx took my time earlier, I use lunch to seek out Sora, Kairi, Xion, and Namine. I find them at the exact same spot as Sora and Xion were at last time and take a deep breath before I walk over to them. They all look up at me in some unplanned synchronization that's kind of creepy.

I take a seat next to Namine and look around at all of them. "Look, I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday." I apologise.

Sora grins. "Apology accepted. You know everything now anyways so there's no use in hiding."

"You see, we were all changed a hundred years ago and we drifted together, kind of like Axel did with Demyx and Zexion. Every supernatural creature has this sort of instinct to look for the light and we found it in you, so we knew that we had to stick by you and protect you from people like Sephiroth." Kairi explains.

"Axel is a demon, and since demons feed on light, we just figured that he isn't safe for you to be around." Namine adds.

"Guys, your concern is nice but I can take care of myself. Axel's not a bad demon; he doesn't even have a contract with Sephiroth. He, Reno, Demyx, and Zexion are good." I tell them.

Xion smiles. "Okay, but if any of them bug you then just let us know and we'll give them a piece of our mind."

I chuckle and shake my head. "I'll keep that in mind."

With my relationships with my friends back intact, I figure all that's left to do is make sure that Cloud and I are on speaking terms, and also talk to him about the immortality situation.

We sit at the kitchen table for dinner that night, just the two of us since Zack is working. I notice that he's only forking his food like me, and dinner feels awkward, like it has for a while now.

"Cloud," I catch his attention, "I'm wondering if maybe I could talk to Angeal and Genesis?"

He lets his lip twitch in I think what was meant to be a frown, but his face otherwise remains impassive. "Rox, we've talked about the angel thing dozens of times, it's not happening."

"Why? I might actually be able to stand up for myself instead of just being useless and defenceless." I argue.

"That's not the point. Zack and I can protect you. Being an angel is way too dangerous."

"So it's fine for you to do it then! You say something is dangerous and then you go do it, but when it comes to me I can't! Why!" I yell, sounding a lot angrier than I had intended.

Now he allows a frown to cross his features. "Roxas, you can't understand why. Things are complicated."

"Explain this to me then because I'm dying to know. You won't let me become an angel so you don't have to worry about me dying?" I ask.

He narrows his eyes. "Don't think for a second that I don't worry about that every single damn day. Don't you get it? What you are cannot live forever. Demons and other supernatural creatures would be after you for your entire life and your light would grow stronger. You'd be in even more danger than ever."

My heart sinks and I slouch in my chair, looking down to avoid his gaze.

I hear him sigh. "Supernatural creatures are tough to kill. If you were to become immortal and Sephiroth of all people caught you, he could drain your light for eternity and feed his power infinitely."

I slightly tremble at that thought. The light that supernatural creatures sense in me is really like an energy source, and they can feed on it to make themselves stronger. I hear it costs me my soul though, and if I lose too much light at once, then my soul disappears and I'm a hollow shell, or I die.

"Do you understand?" Cloud asks, shaking me from my thoughts.

I look up at him. He gives me a tight-lipped grin. I can't even smile back and I just nod instead. I don't really want to die and I definitely don't want to leave Cloud. I'd never ever see him again, and he's the one who has been here for me my entire life. I would have to leave Axel, and Zack, and Demyx, Zexion, Sora, Namine, Xion, Kairi, and Reno forever. Maybe I can figure out some other way, maybe just gain immortality so it's not as bad.

****

**I wonder what will happen if I say five reviews for the next chapter? Please make it happen :)  
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	6. Chapter 6

**Hey people, so I didn't get as many reviews as I wanted (sad face) but I decided to update anyways because I actually have some free time (yay!). I like this chapter and I hope you guys will too!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own the characters, but yes, I own the story.**

Roxas

School and my life begin to pass by in a blur. Everything moves fast and Hikari settles into cold weather. The plus is that over the weeks, Axel and I get closer. We're officially dating at this point, but not boyfriends just yet. He tells me a lot about his life and all of his misadventures, which are quite hilarious. We even go on a few double dates with Demyx and Zexion, who are very close. I barely see Reno, but when I do, he acts weird.

One time, while Axel was getting changed before our date, he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me before he licked the shell of my ear… yes, licked! I'm not stupid, I call him weird but I know he likes me. I just try to avoid thinking about it. I don't need to worry about loving two demons, especially since they're brothers, but Reno is a look-alike of Axel and he's sweet (most of the time) and mature. Plus, he makes me just as nervous as Axel does, which is not a good sign. I don't want to admit that I may be falling for Reno just a bit, but I am.

So, on a particular Friday when Axel is upstairs taking a shower because he got splashed on the walk home with slush, I'm sitting in his living room on the couch. Demyx and Zexion are out on their own date, so Reno is the only other person home.

Reno walks into the living room with a beer in his hand and he sits down next to me. "So, how drenched did Axel get?" The redhead asks.

I smile. "He was cursing about his ass being cold so I guess completely through his clothes." It had actually shocked me because Axel never gets cold, but he and water don't mix too well in the first place.

He shakes his head. "Well, he is an unlucky klutz so stuff like that happens to him all the time."

I frown slightly. I can hear an edge of disdain in Reno's tone and it bothers me.

I turn to the TV that is playing a re-run of some old game show. The volume is fairly low; enough that I can barely hear what is going on.

The TV suddenly flicks off and I look to my right to see that Reno has turned it off. He sets the remote down on the side table next to him and turns to me. "Listen Roxas, before you go and get into anything serious with Axel you should know that when he lets his demon side out, he can't control it very well. It's very dangerous and he can do terrible things when he's set free."

I turn to face Reno. "Why are you telling me this? It's not like Axel would do anything to me."

"I said he had no control remember? He doesn't even recognise people, and since you have that light inside of you, his first instinct will be to go after you and feed from you. I'm just telling you this to protect you."

I fold my arms over my chest. "You clearly don't know your brother as well as I do. He wouldn't let something like that happen."

"And you clearly don't know him as well as you think you do. He's keeping just as many secrets from you as you are from him."

I bite my lip and look down. Maybe Reno's right, for once. Axel can be sketchy, although he is open. He never goes into detail in his stories, and I know he only tells me ones that make me laugh.

I snap out of my thoughts as Reno pulls me over into his lap. I feel my cheeks heat up and he rubs my arms, which, although I hate to admit it, soothes me.

"Axel's more of a demon than you think." I feel Reno's breath on my ear as he whispers to me and it sends shivers down my spine. Why am I not stopping this?

My answer is 'oh' when Reno starts kissing my neck. I close my eyes, regrettably, and actually enjoy the redhead sucking on my skin, god forbid. I snap my mouth shut to keep any unwanted sounds from coming out and jump off his lap quickly, turning back to face him. I'm sure that I'm blushing and I think he knows that I enjoyed that, but I remind myself that I have to be serious here.

I clear my throat. "Reno, I'm dating Axel, you can't just do that." I say.

He lazily stands up and walks over to me. "Why not? I'm better for you."

"Well you don't get to decide. I can't believe you're degrading your own brother."

"We haven't been close for decades now. Just give me a chance to show you that I'm better than him Roxy." He begs, even daring to use Axel's nickname for me, as he bends his head and kisses me.

I squeeze my eyes shut and allow him to kiss me for a few moments, but refuse to kiss back. I then push him away enough that his lips are off mine. I catch my breath and then look up at him, feeling slightly bad, but only slightly since he keeps coming onto me while I'm dating his brother. "I can't. I'm dating Axel, that's my choice." I say.

We both hear footsteps coming down the stairs and I walk into the foyer to make sure that Axel doesn't see anything of the scene that had just occurred. He meets me halfway and kisses my forehead quickly before he grabs his shoes and jacket and pulls them on. I do the same, forcing myself not to look back at Reno.

Axel grabs his car keys and gives a slight wave to his brother before he opens the door for me and I walk outside, glad to taste the fresh air after only being able to taste Reno's alcohol. Let me tell you, alcohol is disgusting, although I have tasted it on Axel before as well. Note to self: get the Cinder brothers to stop drinking. We head out to Axel's car and climb in. I make sure that I put on a smile for him as we leave, heading downtown for our date.

Axel and I go out for hot chocolate before we walk to the arcade. He suggests that we do something different for every date, and so far he has managed to be consistent, aside from us constantly getting hot chocolate and coffee because we're both addicted.

When we get to the arcade, we decide to play Dance Dance Revolution, and I'm automatically winning because Axel can't move fast enough to get his feet onto the right arrow, which is ironic because he has super speed. So, because Axel can't win, the jerk resorts to cheating.

I'm hitting the arrows at what is super speed compared to Axel when I'm suddenly shoved and I miss two arrows. I glare back at Axel, who's laughing now and missing every note, although he was before anyways. I grin and shove him back; accidentally making him hit the right note.

I gape at him. "That is so unfair!"

He laughs. "I guess you're good luck Roxy."

I frown and hit a combo, ignoring him when he persists to shove me and try to get me to lose, but when he realises that I'm done playing around, he grabs me around my waist and keeps me off the ground so I can't hit the arrows.

"Axel Cinder you cheater!" I yell, trying to get him to let go of me.

"Nope, I'm picking the game this time, and it's going to be an actual video game." He says, dragging me off just as the song ends.

I frown as he sets me back down in front of some shooting game. "I hope you know that I'm opposed to even a game about killing animals." I point out.

"Well this isn't an animal killing game, it's a zombie killing one." He says, picking the gun out of the holster and starting the game. He puts the gun in my hands and then stands behind me and positions me to play, keeping his hands over mine. I feel my face heat up slightly, but as soon as the game starts, he's helping me kill all the zombies and I find it oddly addicting. No wonder video games rot the brain. We actually win the game, mostly because Axel is amazing at it, and then we go cash in our tickets. He gets a toy gun, being the immature child he is.

I shake my head as we leave the arcade. "You are such a child." I say.

He laughs. "Yeah, but you love it."

I roll my eyes and try to ignore him pretending to shoot the gun at people. He wraps his arm lightly around my neck suddenly and I feel him press the gun to my temple. "Put your hands behind your head." He says threateningly, although I can see him smiling out of the corner of my eyes.

"You don't have handcuffs Ax, besides, that's a little too kinky for you." I say.

"Joy kill much." He says, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me back until he hits a wall and leans back against it.

"I'm the joy kill? You're the one who ruined Dance Dance remember?" I tease.

"I'm a sore loser." He says as he rests his chin on my shoulder.

"Yeah, I got that." I say, relaxing slightly and closing my hands around his.

We just stand there in silence for a long time, both of us lost in thought. I finally relax completely and rest my head on his shoulder.

"Roxas?" He breaks the silence.

"Hm?" I ask.

"We've been dating for a month now right?"

"Mhm."

"So when are you officially going to be my boyfriend?"

I grin and reach up with one hand to cup his cheek, pulling his head down slightly as I tip mine back to kiss his chin. "I think now is as good a time as any."

He smiles and leans in to kiss me. I kiss him back and feel my life settle into place for the first time in years.

Axel

I'm smiling for the entire rest of the date, as I drop Roxas off and he kisses me, and as I drive home. I skip in the front door of my house and do a twirl. "Axel's got a boyfriend!" I yell dreamily.

I hear a crash from upstairs and then Demyx has wrapped his arms around my waist and I'm off the ground in a choking hug. "Oh my god! Axel that's awesome! I'm so happy for you!"

"Demyx, Axel's taken now, you can't just glomp him whenever you please. Only Roxy can." Zexion says as he joins us.

Demyx lets me down and I take a few needed breaths of air. "Thanks Zexy." I say gratefully.

"So, how did it happen?" Zexion asks.

"Well, we were just kind of standing in silence for a while and then I asked him if he was ready to be my boyfriend and he said yes!" I explain.

Demyx coos. "Aw! You two are too cute! But not as cute as my Sexy Zexy." Demyx says as he wraps an arm around Zexion's shoulders.

Zexion smirks and wraps an arm around Demyx's waist, pulling him in and kissing him.

I roll my eyes. "I don't need to see you two sucking face. I've got Roxy for that."

They're so lost in their kiss that they don't even notice me, so I sigh and walk away. Sometimes, I think my friends are a little too weird.

Roxas

When I get home, I find Cloud and Zack in the living room with Angeal and Genesis. I pause at seeing the two archangels and everyone turns to face me. I take a deep breath before I slowly walk into the living room. "Uh, hi." I say.

"Roxas, we need to talk." Angeal says seriously.

I again find that lately, everyone needs to talk to me. How many times have I heard that one sentence in the last while? Cloud pulls me down onto the couch to sit next to him.

"We understand that you're dating a demon." Genesis says bluntly.

I look down as I feel my face heat up slightly. "Well…"

I hear Cloud sigh. "Don't tell me your guys are official now."

"Really? How did he ask you? Was he romantic?" Zack asks excitedly.

I have to cover my mouth to keep from laughing, seeing as Cloud, Angeal, and Genesis don't find it amusing in the least.

"Anyways," Genesis starts, "Roxas, being with a demon is dangerous."

I frown. "You're not the first person I've heard this from. Axel's not really dangerous, trust me. I can take care of myself."

Genesis smirks. "Alright, our job is done." He tries to leave but Angeal grabs the back of his shirt and drags him back.

"You can't really know him until you see his demon side. You have to be very careful around demons." Angeal points out.

I turn to glare at Cloud. "You really can't trust me with this can you? Don't you get it? I love Axel, and you can't just try to manipulate that." I jump off the couch and push past Angeal and Genesis, running upstairs and into my room, slamming the door shut behind me.

I walk over to my bed and flop onto it on my stomach, burying my face in my arms. I can hear Angeal and Genesis leave and then I hear footsteps coming up the stairs and I hope that it's Zack coming upstairs to make me laugh or something.

I hear my bedroom door open and shut and then I feel someone sit next to me and rest their hand on my shoulder.

"Rox, I'm sorry." Cloud apologises.

I ignore him, letting him know how mad I am at him.

"I know you love Axel but I just don't want you to get hurt by the supernatural world anymore." He says.

I sigh and raise my head, resting my chin in my arms and stare straight ahead, making sure to avoid looking at him. "Cloud, we've already got no escape from the supernatural world so it doesn't matter anymore. We might as well just accept that we're a part of it."

He lies down next to me on his side and tilts my head to look at him. "You're right about that. I just naturally don't trust or like anyone who likes my baby brother, you know that." He ruffles my hair.

I push his hand away. "You should trust my judgement at least then."

He lets a smile pull at his lips. "Yeah, I know. Maybe I can make it up to you somehow. Zack and I are going out on a date tomorrow night so Axel could always come over here for the night as long as you two don't do anything and he sleeps on the couch."

I smile at him. "In your bed?"

"Fine." He agrees, pulling me in for a hug.

"Thanks Cloud. I love you." I say, hugging him back.

"Love you too bro." He says, rubbing my back.

Axel is obviously very excited that my brother is actually going to let him sleep over at my house while he and Zack are out. I remind him that we can't have sex and he's a little less excited, but I find it funny that I get to tease him about it all night.

Axel comes over at four just as Cloud and Zack are leaving. I let him inside and he pulls me into a hug. "This is going to be great! I get a whole night with my Foxy Roxy to myself!"

"Foxy Roxy?" My face flushes when I hear Zack laughing. I turn around and shoot him a death glare. "Aw, that's too cute." The ravenette teases.

"You're a jerk Zackary Fair." I mumble.

"I think it suits you." Cloud says as he walks by and ruffles my hair.

I fume. "Oh, so you're done with the overprotective stage and moving onto the tease Roxas stage now?" I ask him.

"You got it bro." Cloud winks at me as he grabs his wallet. "Alright, we'll be back tomorrow around the same time. There's money to order pizza on the kitchen table."

Zack twirls his keys around his finger. "Have fun, but not too much fun." He tells us.

Cloud whacks his boyfriend's arm, making the ravenette drop his keys. I stifle a laugh and Axel covers his mouth, trying to do the same.

"You do realise that if you two turn into us you're Zack right Axel?" Cloud asks.

"He's only jealous because I'm the man in the relationship." Zack tells Axel.

"You are not!" Both Cloud and I yell at the same time, me for the sake of not being the woman in my relationship.

"Rox, even I can say that you are the girl in your relationship." Cloud says, ducking in time to avoid a hit from me. "See you both later. Call if you need anything." He kisses my forehead quickly before he and Zack slip out.

"Bye you two! Don't you have too much fun either!" Axel calls out the door.

I'm about to whack him, but I stop myself when I remember that we'll officially be Zack and Cloud if I do. Damn them.

Axel grins at me as he shuts the front door. "So, shall we order the pizza?"

"Good idea." I say, walking into the kitchen and picking up the phone to call. As I'm ordering, Axel decides to come up behind me and start tickling my sides. "Yes extra… ch-aha- eese." I manage to get out as I try to keep from laughing. I cover the mouthpiece and turn to Axel, swatting his hands away. "Leave me alone." I tell him.

He laughs and ignores me, persisting to tickle me as I try to finish the order, and by the time I finally hang up, I'm pretty sure the woman on the line thinks I'm insane.

I'm barely able to put the phone down with Axel still tickling me. "You j-aha-jerk! S-stop! Ha, ha!" I try to push his hands away.

He laughs. "You don't really sound very convincing Roxy."

I try to turn around to face him but this ends up with me tripping and both of us falling. He manages to save me from hitting the back of my head on the tiled floor luckily, but now he's lying on me and I realise how bad of a position I'm in to defend myself.

He stops tickling me and smiles, leaning in to kiss me instead. I smile against his lips and kiss him back. We just lie there for a while before he rolls off of me, stopping the kiss, and stands up. "Come on, the kitchen floor isn't very comfortable." He offers me a hand up and I take it, letting him pull me to my feet.

We walk into the living room and sit on the couch, occasionally kissing as we wait for the pizza to come. We have the TV on but we barely notice what's playing. When the pizza finally comes, we turn off the TV and talk and eat instead.

I learn that Axel can eat a whole pizza by himself when I only eat two pieces and he eats the rest and he's still hungry. "How on earth are you so thin?" I question as I take away the plates and empty pizza box.

"Stomach of steel." He answers, following me into the kitchen.

"Tickle me again and you die." I tell him as I wash the dishes.

"Alright, but I can only keep my hands to myself for so long."

I finish washing the plates, put them on the rack to dry, and then turn and throw the pizza box at his head, laughing when it makes a successful hit. Maybe it damaged his ego a bit.

He pouts at me, rubbing his head. "Ouch Roxy, that hurt."

"Serves you right." I tell him, folding my arms over my chest and grinning at him.

He picks up the pizza box and puts it on the kitchen table, then zips over to me in a flash and throws me over his shoulder.

"Axel! Put me down!" I command as he carries me back into the living room.

He sets me down on the couch and then straddles me. "Not until I get an apology kiss."

I try to push him off of me. "No way!"

He grabs my wrists and restrains my arms by my head. "Now that's not the way to talk to your boyfriend."

"And this isn't a way to get an apology kiss." I tease.

"Truce?"

"Deal."

He lets my wrists go and I reach up to wrap my hands around the back of his neck and bring his head down to kiss him. He kisses me back and I can't help but think that I never want this night to end.

****

**D'aww! Roxas and Axel are together 3. I love Dance Dance Revolution, I don't know what's wrong with Axel there. Please review! I want to know that this story is getting some lovin', and check out my other stories. If you like Final Fantasy, I have a story there that has gotten pretty good feedback.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay so, I haven't updated because I've been busy and I haven't been able to log on for whatever reason Anyways, I would like to thank Candy3314 for all of the amazing reviews and that is the reason I am updating. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. **

**Enjoy **

Roxas

We eventually settle down to watch a movie and I end up huddled in a blanket on Axel's lap. I'm only half paying attention to the horror he picked out as he runs his hand through my hair. He excuses himself to go to the washroom halfway through and I pause the movie. Just as he leaves, my cell phone buzzes. I pick it up off the table and find that I have a text message.

_You can't escape me Roxas Strife._

I feel my heart skip a beat and I turn off my cell phone, ignoring whatever the hell kind of joke that is. The second I do, the phone rings. I figure it's Cloud checking up on us and I answer it. "Hello?"

"That wasn't very nice of you to ignore my text Roxas." The masculine voice chides.

I feel myself start to shake. "Who is this?"

"It's only been ten years. You don't remember me?"

I freeze and end the call, setting the phone back down on the table just as Axel walks back in.

He sees me looking scared out of my wits and walks over, seriousness on his face. "Roxas, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I wrap my arms around him without responding and my whole body is trembling. Since I have the blanket wrapped around me still, he knows that it's not because I'm cold.

"What happened?" He asks.

"H-he's back." I say shakily.

"Who?" He asks, just as the phone rings again.

I look up at him, shaking my head vigorously. "Don't answer it!"

The phone picks up on its own and switches to speaker phone. "Ignoring my calls now? I thought your parents raised you better Roxas. Oh, what am I saying? Your parents died ten years ago."

Axel hears that and suddenly he's fuming. He picks up the phone. "Who the hell is this!"

"You should know Axel Cinder, or should I say, Lea Tanner." The voice says.

Axel's eyes darken. "Sephiroth."

I bury my face in his chest as the memories pour back in.

"Where are you?" Axel demands.

The power suddenly shorts out, plunging the entire house into darkness and I whimper, clenching my hands around the front of Axel's shirt. I can't go through this again, not with Axel.

"Why don't you look and find out?" Sephiroth challenges before the phone dies off as well.

"Roxas?"

I look up at Axel and he starts rubbing my back soothingly, probably because I look terrified.

He smiles lightly and kisses my forehead. "Everything's going to be fine alright? I have to look around and you have to come with me so you're safe okay?"

I nod and drop my arms back to my sides. He grabs my hand and with his free hand, lets a small flame ignite in the palm of his other hand. With that, he begins to lead us through the house, checking every room until we have none left. Sephiroth isn't anywhere, not even in the basement.

I start shuddering when Axel leads us to the back door. He looks back at me with his hand on the knob and I shake my head no. This is the part in horror movies where stupid people who make stupid decisions end up dead.

"Come on Rox, it isn't safe here. Sephiroth's up to something so we have to leave." He prods.

"But Axel…" I try to protest but he's already opening the door and I realise that I have no choice. I follow him outside and onto the patio in the backyard. The fenced area is dark and nothing appears to be there.

He shakes his head and turns back to me. "Alright, let's go."

We both suddenly sense the great amount of darkness at the same time and he barely turns in time to block a sword with his own. He knocks the person back and stands in front of me as Sephiroth himself lands safely on the ground.

I hold Axel's hand even tighter and I realise an odd thing: I still have my blanket wrapped around me. Maybe it's because I'm so panicked that I notice something completely irrelevant.

"Well, I have to say that I would have never expected the two of you to find each other." Sephiroth says grinning.

"People with a common enemy tend to drift together." Axel retorts.

"What a shame to hear you say that when I was so kind to the both of you." He says, his voice velvety.

"Like hell!" I retort, that one sentence making me angry enough that my fears are forgotten.

Sephiroth turns his eyes to me and my breath catches in my throat at seeing his green, cat-like eyes. He smiles evilly.

Axel moves to obstruct me from his view and luckily, him from mine. "Get out or I'll kill you." He threatens.

Sephiroth barks out a laugh. "You can't kill me Axel, I created you."

"You have no power over me." Axel reminds him, before he charges forward at super speed. Sephiroth matches him and they meet in the middle, their swords locked and sparking metal. They both pull back and strike again with the same result.

I watch as they fight, neither of them giving an inch. Sephiroth finally seems to get tired of the equal playing field and at the next hit, darkness curls from his sword and into Axel's, shooting the redhead back and into the fence.

"Axel!" I try to run over to him but arms wrap around my waist and pull me back into a well-muscled chest. I try to pry the person's hands away but the second I see silver hair flowing around my peripheral vision, I freeze.

Axel slowly gets up and turns to look at me. He sneers. "Riku! Let him go!"

I continue to struggle but I stop when I feel Riku nuzzle his face into my neck, sending shivers down my spine. "Maybe I don't want to." The silverette says.

I can almost literally see flames in Axel's eyes and he runs forward, only for Sephiroth to step between us and stop him.

"You wouldn't want to accidentally hurt Roxas now would you?" Sephiroth baits.

I start struggling again in Riku's arms, trying to break free. I finally stomp on Riku's foot and he cries out, letting go of me. Sephiroth looks back at me and Axel uses this opportunity to punch him and knock him away. Axel quickly runs over to me, picks me up in his arms bridal style (gee, isn't this familiar), and runs, faster than I've ever seen him run before, so fast that the space around us blurs into nothing but lights.

Axel has to skid to a stop and we're in the middle of a street. He quickly speeds onto the sidewalk before we get hit by a car and we both gulp in breaths of air greedily. With him running that fast, neither of us could breathe I'm sure.

He finally catches his breath and looks down at me. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" He asks worriedly.

"I-I'm fine." I reach up and touch what I realise is a bruise on his forehead. "You're not though."

"I'll be alright." He says passively, carrying me over to an alleyway with a payphone in it. "You don't have your cell phone do you?" He asks.

I shake my head. "No, Sephiroth could probably track it anyways. Where are we?"

"Somewhere in Japan. I never use super sonic speed because it takes you very far in a short amount of time and it takes a few seconds to slow down." He replies.

"So we could be across the country?" I ask in shock.

"Yeah, anywhere." He looks around like he's searching for something familiar. "Any money?"

"No."

He lets out an agitated sigh as he sets me down, and the blanket I still have with me I clutch tighter. It's freezing outside.

I look across the street and see a man in a business suit talking on his cell phone. I smile and turn to Axel. "Wait here a second." I see him open his mouth to protest but I ignore him as I cross the street and make myself cry. I walk by the man, and he, seeing my crying, stops me.

"Hey kid, are you okay?" He asks.

I sniffle and turn two big, blue, teary eyes to look at him. "I'm lost and I don't have any money to call home so my parents can come and get me." I reach up to wipe my tears away.

He says goodbye to the person on his cell phone and then digs in his pockets, pulling out a few coins. "Here, this should be enough for a few calls in case you don't get through the first time."

I smile and wipe my nose. "Thank you so much mister." I bow to him and then make my way back over to Axel, making sure the man leaves before I rejoin my boyfriend.

He smirks at me. "That was the most cheesy, upsetting, and adorable display I have ever seen."

I wipe my tears away and smile at him. "Well, I'm a good actor."

"Clearly. If I had known earlier that I could just get you to pull a pity act to get money then I wouldn't have gotten a job." He says.

"Axel!" I protest. "The only reason I did it that once and will never do it again is because we're desperate now, so call Cloud."

"Can't. Sorry." He apologises, turning to put the coin in the slot.

"Axel!" I yell.

He turns back to face me. "Look, the person I do have to call I hate way more than your brother, but he's our only option. Reno's the only one who can track our location and he's probably the only one who can help us, so he's our only option. If you're not going to play the poor, lost kid again then we have to save the bit of money we have."

I sigh and nod.

He turns back to the phone and slides in the coin, dialling a number and waiting as it rings. I move in close so I can listen.

"Hello?" Reno answers.

"Reno, it's me, Axel."

"Axel? What the hell are you doing calling me from a payphone?"

"Roxas and I ran into a bit of a problem. Sephiroth and Riku attacked us so I went super sonic and now we don't know where we are and we have nothing with us." Axel explains.

"Hmph, well, it looks like you've got quite the pickle."

"Reno, this is serious. We need your help. Sephiroth is getting serious now clearly so we can't go back home."

"What!" I exclaim in shock.

"Clearly Roxy doesn't agree with your plan." Reno remarks.

Axel glares at the sky, probably wishing it was his brother. "Serious remember? You need to track us, find out where we are, get some equipment and money, and get your ass over here."

"Commandeering much? I'm only doing this because you're going to get Roxas hurt otherwise. Give me a few hours and then maybe some extra to get to wherever the hell you got yourselves."

Axel frowns. "I can take care of Roxas just fine. We're both still here now after all."

"You won't be when Xemnas shows up. If Riku is there he won't be far behind."

"Just get your ass here got it? We'll be in the coffee place across from the payphone." Axel says.

"Alright, see you before the night ends." Reno hangs up with that and Axel puts the phone back on the holder. The redhead grumbles something about Reno being a jerk.

I rest my hand on Axel's shoulder and he turns to me. "I can't believe you still have that goddamn blanket." He says.

I chuckle. "I know, I guess I was so nervous it was the only thing I held onto."

"Think you could get enough money for us to split a hot chocolate?" He asks.

I frown. "Axel…"

"I know, I know. Okay, let's just go and get warm then. Hopefully they'll let us stick around." He wraps an arm around my shoulders and we cross the street and enter the warmth of the coffee shop. We take a booth near the back of the empty place. Music plays lightly in the room and the smell of coffee is barely there anymore.

Axel sits next to the window and I sit next to him, resting my head on his shoulder as he rubs my arm, distractedly staring out the window.

"Axel?" I say after a while.

"Hm?" He looks down at me.

I sit up a bit and chew on my lip for a few seconds before I meet his eyes again. "I think I'm ready to tell you what happened… with Sephiroth." I clarify.

His eyes widen a little. "Him coming back got you thinking about it huh?"

I nod. I can see everything from ten years ago so clearly now, it's like I'm reliving it.

He wraps his arm around my shoulders again. "Okay, you have my undivided attention."

****

**Please review! I would like to see a few more reviews before I upload, even just a quick comment really makes my day. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay! The next chapter! Honestly, from this point on, I don't know how often I'll be updating because I've got a lot going on in my life right now and things are going to be busy, but I will try.**

**This whole chapter is Roxas' memories of his past so that's why it's all in italics. I made his parents Stella Fleuret and Leon, both from the Final Fantasy series if you don't know who they are (although Leon is also in Kingdom Hearts so you should know him).**

**Here is the part where I thank all my lovely reviewers so far because you all deserve it and this AN is long already so here we go!**

**A big, loving thank you from me to: Corinne15999, Jayda Yuki-Anderson, ForeverMeNeko, AnimositysDaughter, Turquoise Fusion, Candy3314, PrincessSprinklePops, and Peaceful Dragon Rose! Honestly you guys make my day! :D**

**Okay, so I don't own anything and here you go, a new chapter! **

Roxas

_I was four, just starting kindergarten. The first day I went to school, I remember being able to sense the darkness and light in people, I could tell if they were human or not, but I didn't really know what the 'or not' entailed. It scared me because I could start to feel people that weren't human hunger for me, but I didn't know why. I didn't tell my parents or Cloud about it, and now I don't know why I didn't, especially when I started hearing his voice in my head. _

_I could have been anywhere at anytime and his voice would just randomly go through my head. Then, I started getting weird visions of anything and everything supernatural. I even saw people from my future now that I think about it. Mostly, I saw him though. He was the image that gave me nightmares every night. He was constantly telling me that he was going to find me, so I was constantly living in fear and checking over my shoulder, just waiting for him to appear. Cloud and my parents noticed there was something wrong with me, I mean, how could they not? They took me to a therapist, but that really didn't make anything better. _

_My therapist was named Xemnas Superior, and it seemed like for the few sessions that I went to with him, it only made things worse. The visions got more vivid, and I would always see people, people I never knew, dying. One night, I saw my parents die, and that was the thing that scared me most. The day after, I stuck to them like glue, silently daring anything or anyone to kill them. They noticed the change in me immediately, but their reaction, was unexpected._

_I sat in between my parents as we watched a movie that evening. Cloud was sitting on the chair next to us, only twelve at the time. My parents, after sending what was like telepathic messages to each other through their eyes, finally flicked off the TV and turned to me. Cloud stared ahead, like he knew exactly what was going on._

"_Roxas, we need you to tell us what's going on." My dad said._

_I shrunk back into the couch a little, looking between him and my mom. "W-what do you mean?"_

"_Everything that's been going on with you lately, just tell us exactly what's going through your mind." My mom begged. _

_I sighed and my body started trembling. "I-I don't know. I keep seeing and feeling things but I don't know what any of it means and I keep seeing people die." I said shakily._

_Cloud finally looked at me, and I then knew that he knew. He and my parents knew something I didn't._

"_What's going on? You all know don't you?" I asked._

_My mom sighed. "Roxas we…"_

_She was interrupted when there was a knock on the front door. My dad sent a glance at her before he went to answer it._

_I could feel the darkness like a sick fog descending over the area. It was so strong that I could feel it trying to grip my heart, and I knew my mom and Cloud were feeling the same. _

_We all heard the skin-splitting twang of a sword and we all saw my dad's body, suddenly suspended off the ground. A long sword ran through his chest and out his back, blood trickling down and dripping off his feet._

"_Dad!" Cloud yelled, attempting to run to him before my mom grabbed his arm and kept him back. _

_I couldn't even move, I was completely frozen. _

_The sword pulled away and my dad dropped to the ground, gaping like a fish, his eyes filming over. A man walked into the living room, stepping over my dad's body, his sword at his side. The man had long silver hair and was very tall. He wore a black cloak with leather boots and his eyes were green and cat-like. _

_My mom, Cloud, and I were frozen to our seats by his presence. None of us moved as his eyes took in every inch of Cloud, my mother, and finally me. He grinned and his green eyes became red. "It is a pleasure to finally meet the Strife family." He said._

_My mom, suddenly overcome with anger, jumped out of her seat. "Who the hell do you think you are Sephiroth! You can't just waltz in here and kill my husband!" _

_I don't know how my mom knew him, or how my family was even originally connected to him._

_He merely smirked. "I assure you Stella, I had been hoping for there to be no bloodshed tonight but Leon simply would not make things easy for me."_

"_What do you want!" She snapped._

"_I think you know perfectly well." He said, his eyes gliding over to me. I started shaking and I could see all of my visions coming back, including the one of him killing my parents._

_My mom's eyes moved to me for a moment but then she quickly returned her attention to Sephiroth. "Get out now."_

_Cloud slid out of the chair he was on and ran over to me, but Sephiroth suddenly threw his arm up and Cloud went flying into the wall, hitting it hard and slumping to the ground unconscious._

"_Cloud!" I yelled, finally unfreezing and running over to him._

_My mom looked back at us and Sephiroth quickly raised his sword and stabbed her through the chest, making her jerk with the impact. _

_I stopped short of getting to Cloud when I saw this and turned back. "Mom!" I ran to her side as Sephiroth pulled his sword out of her and she fell to the floor. I rolled her onto her back and she stared up at me fearfully. _

"_R-run." She whispered, her voice raspy. _

_I tried to move but found my legs trapped to the floor by an invisible force._

"_So, you are the light, correct Roxas Strife?"_

_My head snapped up at Sephiroth's voice addressing me. He now stood next to me and I wished I could inch away. "P-please, just l-leave us alone." I begged, tears streaming down my cheeks._

_He gave me what should have been a sympathetic smile, but came out more like a Cheshire cat grin. He knelt next to me and picked me up in his arms. I would have fought, but something was still holding me back. He carried me over to the couch and set me down, sitting next to me. _

"_Now Roxas, that's not the polite way to talk to a guest." He chided, reaching up to wipe my tears from my cheeks. _

_I tried to turn my head away but I still couldn't move. Instead, I opted to just close my eyes so I wouldn't have to see his. "What do you want?" I managed to get my voice to work._

_His hand was now just stroking my cheek as I was refusing to let more tears fall and surprisingly succeeding. "I'm so glad you asked. I think you know by now that you're not fully human. There's something very, very special about you. You have a very strong light in you and supernatural creatures absolutely **love** such a powerful thing. In fact, we feed off of it."_

"_W-what do you mean we?" I asked._

_He chuckled softly and I felt the invisible force that had been restraining me disappear. I opened my eyes only to find that his had turned red again. I gasped and jumped off the couch, trying to get away and accidentally tripping over my mom's body. _

_She bit her lip to hold back a cry of pain and I raised my head off the floor only to come face-to-face with my dad, who was mouthing the word 'run' to me over and over again. He had started convulsing and I barely managed to keep myself from throwing up with all the blood spewing out of his chest._

_I felt myself being picked up again and I started screaming and kicking, trying to get away, but Sephiroth's grip was strong and the second I felt his lips on my forehead, my energy started to drain out of me. I could feel him eating some of the light inside of me and the fight left me as well. I was again carried to the couch, only half conscious, and he sat down, resting me in his lap. _

"_Your light is strong." He said as he began petting my head and running his hand through my hair._

_I shivered at his touch, but I was so weak now that I couldn't even consistently shake._

"_I'll make you a deal Roxas. I will let your brother live. It's much too late for your parents now, but in return, I want you to do something for me."_

_I wished I could see Cloud, even to make sure that he was still okay, not completely for the assurance that he was there, because I'd rather he wasn't. I nodded slightly to tell him that I'm listening._

"_Ten years from now, you belong to me. Your light is going to get much stronger in that time, but right now, it's still much too weak. If in ten years, you refuse to come to me, I will kill your brother." He said._

_I nodded again without even thinking. I just knew that I had to protect Cloud. I moved my eyes to my parents, who both looked at me with a mix of happiness and disappointment. I could tell they were happy that I had saved Cloud, but disappointed in me for giving myself up. At that point, I didn't even know how they were still alive._

_Sephiroth grinned and bent his head to kiss my forehead again, draining even more light from me. I felt myself slip into unconsciousness as I was lifted from him and laid on the couch. My eyes started to close, but before they did, I saw Sephiroth kill my parents mercifully. _

__

_When I woke up, everything flooded back and I found my parents dead on the floor. Cloud woke up not long after and we left, thinking we could hide. We moved to Hikari, but two kids who weren't old enough to be on their own by far were quick to attract attention. Angeal and Genesis told us who they were and that they had known our parents, so we took them up on their offer to let us live with them. That's when we met Zack, and he became Cloud's best friend. _

_Six years later, Cloud was eighteen and old enough to take care of both of us. I was only ten at the time, and he realised that when Sephiroth came back in four years, I would be taken away, so he decided to ask Angeal and Genesis to make him an angel so he could protect me. _

_I remember coming home from school that day, and I found him in the living room of our house with Angeal and Genesis on either side of him. Zack was standing off to the side observing, but everyone stopped when they noticed me._

"_What's going on?" I asked._

_Cloud looked at Angeal and Genesis quickly before he walked over to me, resting his hands on my shoulders. "You remember how you made that deal six years ago right?"_

_How could I forget? I nodded._

"_Well, you did that to save my life, so now it's my turn to do the same." He said._

"_What do you mean?" I asked confused. _

"_Cloud's going to become an angel." Angeal answered._

_I looked up at my brother in shock. "Cloud! You can't do that!"_

"_Rox, I have to protect you no matter what. This is my decision, and I'm fine with it." He assured me._

_I threw his arms off of me and glared at him, tears streaking down my face. "I don't care! You can't just throw your life away for me!" I yelled._

_He sneered. "Oh, so I can't do what you did! I'm supposed to be your big brother Roxas and I couldn't even protect you that night! I don't care what I have to do, I'm not letting Sephiroth get his hands on you!" He yelled._

_I froze, hurt by his tone. I took a step back cautiously and his anger faded. He pulled me into a hug. "Just trust me Rox." He pulled back and looked up at Zack, who I realised was behind me._

_Zack nodded and put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me away._

"_No! Please Cloud! Don't do this!" I begged._

_Cloud gave me an assuring smile before Zack shut the sliding door that led into the kitchen._

_I turned to Zack, tears still streaming down my face. "How could you! I thought you loved him!" I accused angrily._

_Zack knelt in front of me, resting his hand on my shoulder. "Roxas, I do, but this is Cloud's life and it's his decision."_

"_You only don't care because now you don't have to watch him die!"_

_He looked down. "Trust me, no matter how much I love him I wouldn't want him to suffer through living for eternity."_

"_Then stop him!"_

"_It's too late. His life, his decision remember?" Zack reminded me._

_My bottom lip trembled and I pushed past him, running upstairs and into my room, slamming the door shut behind me. I ran over to my bed and threw myself onto it, crying into my arms. _

__

_Cloud came in hours later. He walked over to my bed and lay down next to me, shaking my shoulder to wake me up. I slowly opened my eyes and when I saw him, I sat up and threw my arms around him, starting to cry again._

"_Why?" I asked as I sobbed._

"_Because you're the most important person to me in the world and it's my job to protect you." He answered, hugging me back and rubbing my back soothingly._

_I suddenly pulled back and glared at him. "I hate you!" I yelled as I flopped back onto my stomach and buried my face in my pillows, crying again. "I hate you." I mumbled into the pillows. _

_He sighed and moved to lie down next to me, wrapping his arms around me and letting me cry into his chest. "I'm sorry Roxas." He apologised. He bent his head and kissed my forehead._

_I don't know why he even put up with me after I said such a horrible thing to him, and after how harshly I treated him for the first month or so after he became an angel. The first time I saw his wings, I snapped at him and told him to cut them off. One time when I caught him training with Zack, I locked myself in my room for days. I just couldn't help thinking how it was all my fault. That he had given up his humanity for me. In the end, Sephiroth could have kept me for the rest of my life, but now Cloud was stuck as an angel forever. There was a difference, a difference I hated._

****

**Poor Roxy and Cloud. Axel and the others are going to help them now though :D**

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**IMPORTANT!**

**Okay, so this is going to be the last update until around the end of March Break because my dad is coming down to visit right before I go to Disney World (woot woot!) for a week :D**

**I will so be laughing if I see anything Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy related at Disney World. Only ten days away!**

**Okay, my excitement aside, I have this lovely chapter here for you and there are only TWO chapters left after this, although I'm not sure if I like something near the end so I might change it.**

**This story has 343 hits! :D Thanks to everyone who made that happen and to all my lovely reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, but I can dream right?**

**On with the story! This is perhaps my favourite chapter :D**

Roxas

I felt tears rolling down my cheeks for most of the story. Axel sat by and listened silently the entire time, rubbing my arm soothingly whenever I got really upset.

"I hated Cloud for a long time, time I wish I could take back." I tell Axel, finishing off the story.

"Wow, I had no idea. I'm so sorry Roxas." He apologised, leaning in to kiss my cheek.

"That's why I hated letting you touch me for a while. I was worried that you were going to take the light like Sephiroth did." I explain.

"We only take it if we choose to. People like Cloud, Zack, Demyx, Zexion, Sora, Kairi, Namine, Xion, and I would never just take your light unless you let us." He assures me.

I nod. "Thank you, for being here for me. I just… I'm not sure how Sephiroth is going to like me bailing on his deal."

"Well, he's never going to get you if I have anything to say about it, and Cloud will be safe with Zack."

"Yeah, I hope so." I say.

He leans in and kisses my cheek again. "You don't have to worry. I'm going to destroy Sephiroth for everything he's done."

We hear the door of the shop jingle to announce that someone is entering and we both look back to find Reno there. He sees us and walks over, sliding into the seat across from us.

"You sort of look like shit Ax. Don't worry Roxas, you still look beautiful." He remarks.

I blush but Axel only glares. "Thanks Casanova. Alright, what did you bring?"

"Everything is in the car because I couldn't exactly bring a bag of weapons in here. I brought three thousand dollars and I have your car and I brought some clothes for both of you." Reno lists off.

"Thank you." I say gratefully, glad that I won't be stuck in the same clothes.

"Okay, great. We should go and get a hotel room so Roxas can rest." Axel says, nudging me so I'll slide out of the booth.

"I'm going to get a coffee first. At least one of us has to stay up to make sure Sephiroth doesn't come." Reno says.

Axel nods. "Good idea. Get me one too." He leads me out of the store and to his car. He chooses to sit in the back with me.

"Thank you for listening Axel." I say.

He smiles at me. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me."

I smile slightly and rest my head on his shoulder, letting my eyes drift closed. Only then do I realise how tired I am when I fall asleep almost instantly.

Axel

While Reno drives around looking for a motel, I can't help but let Roxas' entire story replay in my mind. I could see why he hadn't wanted to talk about it, the whole thing and what his life had become because of it.

I rub Roxas' arm distractedly as I look out the window. He's breathing lightly as he sleeps.

"So, what did you do to make him cry Ax?" Reno suddenly asks.

I look at him in the rear view mirror and glare at him. "For your information he told me about how Sephiroth killed his parents and how his brother gave up his humanity for him."

"Oh, it was a serious talk huh? So, what's the history?"

"That's his decision to tell you, not mine. Look, Sephiroth isn't going to stop coming after him now, they made a deal a long time ago. We have to keep Roxas safe from him and kill him before he gets to Cloud." I explain.

He looks back at me confusedly in the mirror. "I feel like I'm missing out on some important detail. Let me guess, Roxas made a deal with Sephiroth to keep Cloud safe?"

"Yeah." I reply.

"We'll have to call Cloud then later so he doesn't freak out. What's the plan?"

"We find Sephiroth's hideout and go to kill him. We can't go back to Hikari until he's dead." I say.

"Axel, to kill Sephiroth we're going to need more strength." Reno chides me.

"Trust me; I've got all the strength I need now. If you can take care of Xemnas and Riku, or at least hold them off, I can destroy Sephiroth." I look down at Roxas and move my hand to his hair, gliding it through the soft, spiky, golden locks.

"I hope you're right about that Axel, we can't risk leaving Roxas anywhere or even taking him back to Hikari so we'll have to take him with us. Once he's in Sephiroth's home, he's defenceless."

"I've got it handled." I assure him with agitation in my tone.

We finally find a motel and Reno buys us a room. Once we park, I turn to Roxas and gently shake him awake.

He slowly opens his eyes and rubs them, looking around confusedly for a few moments.

"We found a motel, we're going to rest here for the night and then I'll explain everything to you in the morning okay?" I tell him.

He nods and gets out of the car, still clutching that goddamn blanket around him. I've got to admit, the kid's got a talent for holding onto things. I get out as well and take the motel keys from Reno so I can let Roxas and me in while he grabs our clothes from the car. I unlock the door to our little room and Roxas and I step inside.

The place is smallish. There are only two beds and no couch. There's a table with a chair by the window, perfect for keeping an eye out for anyone. The bathroom is in the right corner, fair sized, and the kitchen is in the left corner.

I push Roxas over to the bed farthest from the door and tuck him into the bed. He's already falling asleep again and I bend down and kiss his forehead, making him smile before he settles in.

I hear the door close and Reno walks over, placing the three bags in between the two beds.

"You don't have a cell phone do you?" I ask.

"No, Sephiroth can trace that kind of thing too easily." He replies.

"Where are we anyways?" I ask.

"Miyazaki." He answers, rubbing his face tiredly.

"Fuck. I went way further than I had thought." I say. Calling Cloud is going to cost quite a bit. I pick up the telephone and dial Cloud's cell, which I was forced to memorize by heart by said older brother of my boyfriend.

I fold my arm as I wait for Cloud to pick up, and when he does, he sounds like I woke the living dead. "Hello?" He asks groggily.

"Cloud, hey, it's Axel." I say.

Everything is silent for a second and then I hear shuffling. "Axel? What the hell are you doing calling long distance?" I'm glad he's tired enough that his rational mind isn't working fully yet.

"Okay, don't freak out, Roxas is fine, but we had a little problem." I assure him.

"Problem? Axel, if anything fucking happened I'll…"

"Let me tell you before you freak out at me okay?" I interrupt him

I hear him sigh. "Alright, I'm listening."

"Okay, uh… You see, Roxas and I were just kind of hanging out and watching a movie and then we got this weird phone call and we went outside to check it out but someone kind of attacked us."

"Who?" Cloud asks, still sounding calm.

He won't now. "Sephiroth."

"Fucking hell!" I hear someone say 'ow' and assume it's Zack. Cloud probably accidentally hit the poor ravenette. "Axel! Why the hell didn't you call me sooner! This is serious in a way you have no idea about!" He yells at me.

"No, trust me, I know now, but I couldn't risk calling you in case Sephiroth tracked it to us. Trust me, Roxas is fine and Reno is with us."

"Why the fuck is your brother able to find you when I fucking can't!" He asks.

"He's a technological genius and he managed to trace our location. Cloud, now that Sephiroth is going after Roxas again, he won't be safe to go back to Hikari." I say.

"Axel, you will fucking bring my brother back to Hikari now or I will fucking murder you." He threatens, rage in his tone.

Interesting thing to keep in mind: Cloud says 'fuck' a lot when he's angry. "I'm sorry, I really wish I could, but we have to kill Sephiroth before he can go back."

"Fine then, have it your way. We'll meet up and go kill him." Cloud says.

"Too risky. Reno and I can handle things."

"Axel, you're clearly not thinking right now. Hand the phone over to my brother."

"You're not either, and he's sleeping. Just trust me on this alright?"

"I don't think you know what you're getting into! Bring him back and Angeal, Genesis, Zack, and I can make sure Sephiroth doesn't get anywhere near him!"

"You're going to deafen me if you keep this up." I remark dryly. "Listen, we both know that Sephiroth is going to be in hell, and we both know angels can't survive there for long. Reno and I can go down there and be at full strength. We can take him. We just need to find out how to get to hell and we'll go destroy him."

"Axel, wake Roxas up and give him the phone." Cloud demands again.

"I know how much you two care about each other, both of you enough to make deals to save each other's lives. Sephiroth will use that against you, and you know as well as I do that Roxas won't let you come no matter what." I tell him.

"AXEL! Stop making fucking excuses and give the damn phone to my brother right now!"

"You're only yelling because you know it's true. We can't waste anymore time. We both know what Sephiroth is like and he has to be destroyed before he makes another move."

I hear him sigh. "Axel, if anything happens to him so help me I'll kill you. I will kill you myself." His tone is defeated now.

"Trust me, I read you perfectly and I won't let Sephiroth hurt him." I promise.

"I'll hold you to that."

"Look, it's been a long day so I'll see you soon, hopefully."

"Axel," He catches my attention before I hang up, "Tell Roxas I love him okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Okay, see your sorry ass soon." He hangs up after that.

I hang up and find Reno watching me. "Gee, he likes to yell at you." My brother says grinning.

I frown. "You take watch. I will tomorrow night." I tell him as I strip off my shirt.

He nods and walks over to the window, sitting in the chair.

I climb into the bed Roxas is in and wrap the blankets around us. I coil my arms around him and he immediately turns to me and snuggles into my chest. I smile and rest my chin on top of his head, almost immediately falling asleep.

Roxas

"_I am so disappointed in you Roxas. I had been hoping you would come quietly, but now you've gone and gotten Axel Cinder mixed up in this as well? It's a shame that he will have to die along with your brother and all your little friends now. I really did want no bloodshed, but you've continued to persist in breaking our deal. Maybe I should have killed Cloud that night ten years ago after all. I will give you a chance to repent though. Give yourself up, and this will not be your future."_

_Flashes of images. Sephiroth, stabbing Zack through the chest as the ravenette tried to defend Cloud. The blonde then in bloodlust attacking Sephiroth, only to meet the same fate. Namine and Xion, trapped by swirling flames with no escape, holding each other as they die. Sora and Kairi, fighting Riku only for him to shoot the latter with darkness that engulfs her and leaves only a hollow shell. Sora, in trying to avenge his girlfriend, meeting his end at Riku's long claw-like fingernails. Demyx being choked to death by Xemnas. Zexion trying to attack said silverette to save his boyfriend only to be burned alive. Reno, trying to fight Sephiroth, only to be caught off guard when Sephiroth disappears and then reappears behind him, stabbing him through with his sword. Axel, running only to come to a stop in front of someone in defence and then get stabbed by Sephiroth._

"Roxas!"

I sit bolt upright, accidentally bumping heads with someone. I immediately lay back down, moaning and rubbing my forehead. I open my eyes to find Axel staring down at me and Reno behind him.

I look at them with confusion. "What?" I ask.

"You hit me in your sleep and then you were tossing and turning like you were having a nightmare." Axel explains.

How right was he? I shake my head. "I'm fine."

"Roxas, you might as well tell us the truth." Reno chides.

The truth? That I'm going to have to turn myself in to Sephiroth? Not a chance, they'll never let that happen. "Okay, maybe it was a nightmare. I don't really remember any of it." I tell them.

Axel looks back at Reno and they seem to pass some sort of look between them that I can't quite define. Axel turns back to me. "Alright, it's morning so get dressed and we'll tell you the plan."

I nod and climb out of bed, dropping the blanket I somehow still have onto the bed. Reno hands me my bag of clothes and I go into the bathroom to change. I come back out and Axel and Reno explain what happened after I fell asleep, including how pissed off Cloud was at Axel. It's probably better that my brother's not here after all, because he wouldn't let me go anywhere near hell.

"Okay, the plan is to go and talk to a demon named Marluxia. He's aligned with Xemnas so he'll know the way to hell, and he's in the area." Axel explains to me.

Reno brings back in a duffel bag and unzips it, revealing all sorts of weapons. I take out a dagger and spin it in my hand, momentarily putting Axel and Reno on guard. "Whoa! Don't kill us!" Reno yells.

I roll my eyes. "I learned how to fight when I was younger. You don't really think I would live with angels and not pick up a thing or two do you?"

They look at each other in surprise and then turn back to me.

"Well, that's hot." Reno remarks.

My face reddens a little and Axel glares at his brother out of the corner of his eye. He hands me a belt with two scabbards. I strap it on and find that the scabbards crisscross just below my waist on my backside, perfect to hide them, so I slide two daggers into them.

Axel grabs a sword and slides it into the scabbard at his side, also grabbing a knife and attaching it to his thigh. Reno grabs two swords and slides them into the crisscrossing scabbards on his back, also grabbing a knife and sliding it into a hilt on his hip.

"Okay, Marluxia is going to be at a supernatural bar, so carrying weapons is natural." Reno says.

"So how is it that you guys need weapons now but they sometimes just appear in your hand?" I ask confused.

"We can call weapons at short range. We'd be too far from home now." Axel explains.

I nod, still finding it a little odd.

"Okay, we've got about a six hour drive to get to the town so that'll give us plenty of time to come up with a definite plan." Reno says, zipping back up the duffel bag.

"Alright, let's get going." Axel says, grabbing our bags of clothes.

We walk out to the car and get in, driving off as we begin to concoct our plan.

****

**Cloud's swearing makes me laugh XD Definitely my favourite part of the whole story. Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm baaack! Yes my vacation is over and I'm already wishing I could go back to Disney World, but it was a pretty awesome trip. Except for the fact that I had a cold the entire time **

**Anyways, thank you for all of the lovely reviews in my absence, it made me so happy to come back and see them. :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.**

**So, without further adieu, chapter ten!**

Roxas

By the time we get to Marluxia's location at seven that night, we've decided what we're going to do. We get some dinner to wait until eight, when the club Marluxia will be at opens.

When we get back to the club, we can hear music from inside and people have swarmed around the entrance to get in. We climb out of the car from the parking lot across the street.

Reno turns to me. "Okay Roxas, so once you get in there just act natural. You'll know Marluxia when you see him, trust me. Just ask him discreetly what we need to know and make sure you don't give anything away."

I nod. "Right."

"I'll be waiting out back as backup." Axel says.

"Okay, get in there, and be careful." Reno says, pushing me towards the club.

I'm glad that there's no bouncer, because I definitely look way too young to get in. The second I get into the club, I have to cover my ears because the music is so loud. All I can see everywhere is people talking, drinking, and dancing. I slide through the crowds, searching for anyone that sticks out. I'm surprised when I see kids that are even younger than me here.

There's suddenly a strong grip on my wrist and I'm yanked back until I hit the wall. In my momentary daze, all I can see in my vision is red. When everything refocuses, I find that it's Reno who slammed me into the wall and now has me caged with his arms on either side of me. The asshole. "Reno, what are you doing?" I ask with annoyance.

He smirks. "Drawing some attention. Just fight me and Marluxia will come running. Now, why don't we go back to my place and have a little fun babe?"

No matter how pissed I am at him for his actions, and the bruise I will have on the back of my head tomorrow, we do need to get Marluxia's attention. "How about you buzz off Reno? I'm not interested."

"I'm sure that I can change your mind." He purrs, moving one arm to trail a hand down my cheek and actually making me shiver involuntarily. He leans in with the intention to kiss me and I place my hands on his chest to keep him a safe distance away, partially for the act and partially because I'm still with Axel and this would feel just wrong.

"I said **no**, now leave me alone." I demand, trying to push him back. I forgot that he's a demon and that this feels like nothing to him.

"Is there a problem here?"

Reno steps away and I shuffle to the side, putting some distance between us. I look up to find a man with pink hair (and I can tell it's a man because he surprisingly looks, well, manly) glaring at Reno.

"Reno, still causing trouble I see?" The pinkette chides.

"Lay off Marluxia, I'm just trying to have some fun." Reno growls.

"Well clearly your 'partner' isn't interested."

Reno sneers at the man and then walks off. "Fine, whatever."

I look up at Marluxia, smiling. "Thanks."

"No problem cutie. Let me get you some water to make up for that idiot." He says, pulling me over to the bar.

We sit next to each other on barstools and the bartender brings water for me and wine for Marluxia.

I'm tentative to drink the water just in case it's spiked, but I pretend to take a sip for Marluxia's benefit.

"So, how'd you end up attracting that ass' attention?" Marluxia asks.

"He kind of followed me here." I reply, trying to keep the story as open as possible.

"Stalker huh? Sounds like Reno."

I smirk. "So, do you own this place?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm kind of surprised you risked coming in here though considering you're human. This whole town is bad for supernatural creatures." He says.

"Actually, I'm here for a reason. I need a way to hell." I tell him.

He raises an eyebrow. "Why on earth would you want to go to hell? Aren't you a little young?"

"I have something I need to take care of. Do you know any way to get there?"

"Whoa baby, you need to tell me why you're going there before I tell you what I know." He says.

"Sephiroth killed my parents so I need to go kill him." I say partial to the truth.

He raises an eyebrow, again. "Hm, kitty's got claws huh? Best way to get to Sephiroth is through Death Valley, California. That's the hell on earth itself."

I nod and, knowing that my job is now done, check my watch. "Well, I'd better get going before my foster parents suspect anything." I say getting up.

He stands as well. "Why don't I drive you? I wouldn't want any more creeps like Reno stalking you."

I shake my head. "No thanks, I'll be alright."

"Roxas, I insist." He grabs my wrist and drags me to the back door.

The second the cold air hits me outside, something occurs to me and I try to wrench my wrist back, finding that his grip is too strong. "I never told you my name."

He stops and turns back to face me, eyes now a demonic red. "Smart boy." He says, with a grin on his lips.

He starts to pull me away again and I fight back, pulling one of my daggers out. He turns back and pulls it out of my hand, twisting my arm that he's still holding behind my back painfully and making me cry out. "I can't imagine how happy Sephiroth will be when I take you right to him."

"There's no way in hell that I'm going to let that happen Marluxia."

Marluxia turns around, thus making me turn with him, to find Axel blocking our path and holding his sword at his side.

The pinkette smirks. "Axel Cinder, I should have guessed that you were around if Reno was."

"Great observation." Axel says, starting to walk forward.

Marluxia levels my dagger at my neck, dangerously close to cutting through my skin. Axel stops cold. "My, my, my Axel. I knew you liked blondes but I didn't expect you to find Sephiroth's."

Axel growls. "Roxas doesn't belong to Sephiroth."

Marluxia smirks. "Not yet at least. Once I take him to Sephiroth he does."

"Not going to happen."

Marluxia suddenly jerks forward, gaping, and lets me go. I stumble forward and Axel rushes over to keep me standing. We turn back to Marluxia just as he drops to the ground with Reno standing over him, one sword in his hand and dripping with blood.

"Now, I certainly hope you gave Roxy the right information." Reno chides.

Marluxia barks out a laugh. "You go to hell Reno, you too Axel, I dare you. You won't be able to kill Sephiroth."

I raise an eyebrow and pull my other dagger out, plunging it down into his heart in one fluid movement to finish him off.

Reno and Axel gawk at me in shock as I straighten. "What? He was annoying me." I tell them.

Axel smiles and wraps an arm around my shoulder. "You are a sexy actor Roxy. You continue to amaze me."

"I've got to admit it was quite the performance." Reno agrees.

I smile. "So, are we going to hell or what?"

We get to the airport and as Reno and Axel book our flight, I wait by the phones. I make sure they are busy before I slide one of the coins I still have into the slot and dial Cloud's cell phone. I want to at least say goodbye to Cloud, because I know that in the end, I am going to be giving myself up.

I wait as it rings and keep my eyes on Axel and Reno.

"Hello?" Cloud's voice comes through when it finally picks up.

"Hey, it's me." I say.

"Roxas! Thank god! Where the hell are you!" He asks frantically.

"The airport. The only way to get to hell is through Death Valley, California so we're heading there."

"Talk some sense into Axel, please, you know you can't go there." He begs.

I sigh. "Cloud… Thank you for taking care of me."

There's a moment of silence. "Rox? What the hell are you talking about?" He asks.

I feel tears start to well up in my eyes. "I'm probably not coming back, we both know that. Sephiroth isn't going to give up."

"Roxas! Put Axel on the phone now!"

"I can't. He's busy. I just wanted to say I love you back." I say quietly.

"Roxas! Roxas don't you dare get on that plane!"

I had been contemplating saying goodbye, but now I realise that I can't and I hang up, managing to pull myself together before Axel and Reno walk over.

"Alright, we've got to hurry because our flight leaves in an hour." Reno says.

I nod and we grab our bags, hurrying to catch our plane.

Somehow, we get through security with all of the weapons in our bags, and Axel tells me after that the bags are enchanted and that the weapons were disguised as normal travel items. I wish I knew where they got those bags so I could get one. I find that time is going too fast once we get on the plane and our flight, although somewhat long, ends too soon. After we get off, we rent a car and continue on to Death Valley.

It's morning by the time we get to the outskirts of the desert and then we ditch the car, grabbing our weapons again before we walk into the desert.

"Too bad we don't have any specifics on what we're looking for here." Axel says.

"We could only get so much out of Marluxia." I remind him, pausing to take a drink of water. It is way too hot to be walking through a desert and I'm still used to winter back home.

Something suddenly sparks in the back of my mind and my eyes widen. "Axel!" I warn just as I feel something latch onto my ankles. I look down to see tendrils of darkness wrapping around me.

Reno and Axel turn around and see what's going just as I'm pulled into the ground. Axel sprints forward and slides across the ground to get to me. I reach up my hand to try to grab him but he comes up just short and I hear him scream my name before I'm engulfed by darkness.

****

**Cliff-hanger! I'll bet now that you're all glad that I didn't leave it at this chapter before I left huh? Only one chapter remains so please review and it will come faster. I'll be sad that this story is done but I think I'm happy with the ending and I hope you will all like it too. Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay my loyal readers, here it is: THE FINAL CHAPTER! :') Thank you to everyone who read this story and reviewed with 317 hits and 26 reviews! I hope you all enjoy the ending and I'm just going to say now that I'm not good at writing not-cheesy endings so I hope that this isn't too cliché or anything. I think I'm happy with it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters for the last time! The story is 100% mine though.**

**Enjoy the last chapter of Never Let Go! **

Axel

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" I yell as I pace back and forth over the spot in the ground where Roxas was pulled under.

Reno stands with his arms folded, staring at the ground.

I run my hands through my hair and turn to him. "What the hell do we do!"

"How should I know!" He snaps.

We had been out here for an hour and we hadn't wanted to leave this spot since it was our closest link to hell.

"Fuck!" I spit as I begin pacing again. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have brought Roxas here, Cloud was right.

"You're lucky you know."

I stop pacing again and turn to look at Reno, who's staring at the ground still.

"You're lucky to have him love you back." He says.

My anger evaporates. "He cares about you too. Why do you think I was so jealous half the time?"

He chuckles lightly. "I was the one with the reason to be jealous. He's absolutely perfect and my baby brother got him before I could."

I smirk, but it quickly fades. "I'm sorry that we haven't been brothers ever since everything happened."

"We haven't exactly had a reason to like each other since we were changed. We're immortal after all, what's the worst that can happen?" He says.

"Roxas and Cloud certainly showed me otherwise. Making deals to save each other's life, that's probably more than Roxas would do for me at this point." I say.

"He loves you back Axel, remember? Anyone could tell, he's just a little cautious."

"AXEL FUCKING CINDER!"

I flinch and turn, seeing none other than Cloud Strife stalking towards me. I blink in surprise, wondering how he knew how to find us. Zack, Demyx, Zexion, Sora, Kairi, Namine, Xion, Angeal, and Genesis are behind him. "Oh fuck." I say to myself.

The second Cloud is in front of me, I'm being picked up by the front of my shirt and raised off the ground. Sad thing is, the kid is shorter than me and the tips of my feet still touch the ground.

"Cloud, put him down." Zack says, coming over to his boyfriend and trying to get him to loosen up.

"Where is he?" Cloud asks through gritted teeth.

I look down. "Something came up from underground and grabbed him. I'm sorry, and you have full permission to kill me once we save him."

He glares at me for a few seconds before he drops me, shoving me back as well. Demyx and Zexion catch me and keep me standing. "So, how do we get into hell?"

"We don't know." Reno answers.

Angeal and Genesis share a look and nod. "Follow us." Angeal says, beginning to walk with Genesis following him.

Cloud and Zack follow with Reno, Demyx, and Zexion behind them and Sora, Kairi, and Namine behind them. Xion and I take up the rear of the pack.

"I thought I would be angry at you," Xion catches my attention when she talks to me, "But I'm not. You've made Roxas happier than he's ever been, and as long as you save him, I won't beat your head in."

I smile. "Thanks Xion."

Roxas

I slowly open my eyes and sit back on my knees. I look around and find that I'm in what looks like a throne room.

"Well, long time no see Roxas."

I whip around on my toes to find Sephiroth standing behind me. My eyes widen and I reach back for one of my daggers, finding that I still have them luckily. I jump to my feet and attempt to stab Sephiroth but he grabs my wrist before I can and squeezes it so hard that I'm forced to drop the dagger and I cry out in pain. I'm tempted to try to grab the other dagger with my free hand but my whole body is suddenly in too much pain to.

"Now, that's not a very kind way to greet an old friend." Sephiroth scolds.

I grit my teeth, trying not to cry out again as his grip tightens. I squeeze my eyes shut but tears still spill from the corners of my eyes.

He finally lets my wrist go and I gasp, dropping to my knees and cradling it.

"I heard about how you killed Marluxia," He remarks, "That's quite impressive. You've learned a lot. What would you say to becoming a demon so you can perfect those skills?"

"And give you power forever? No way in fucking hell." I retort.

"Well, I tried to make a deal with you, but clearly you're not going to cooperate." He kneels down in front of me and leans in, kissing my temple.

I gasp and my pupils dialyse when my energy starts to flow out of me and into him. He's taking more than he ever has and I can't even move to try to stop him. I can feel that I'm almost drained when he finally stops and I can move again. I fall forward and he catches me, saving me from hitting my head.

"The beautiful thing about your powers Roxas, is that as long as I don't completely drain you, your light will regenerate, and it keeps you immortal." Sephiroth explains.

I shudder. Now I am stuck forever. I didn't even get to say goodbye to Axel, or tell him that I love him back. I was stupid for not saying it before.

Sephiroth gently lays me on the ground and then gets up, leaving.

I can't even move I'm so weak; all I can do is close my eyes and try to regain some strength.

My forehead was resting on the cool ground. I still hadn't been able to move since Sephiroth had left me here.

I feel tears begin to stream down my face again and I squeeze my eyes shut. I wish I had said goodbye to Axel, I miss him. I miss everyone and I can't ever see any of them again.

"Roxas!"

I freeze, my eyes reopening. I thought I had heard Axel's voice, but I must just be imagining things.

"Roxas!"

I look up when I hear Cloud, weakly pulling my head off the ground, and see him and Axel running over to me. Reno, Demyx, Zexion, Sora, Namine, Xion, and Kairi are in tow.

The second Axel gets to me he pulls me into his arms and rolls me onto my back, planting a kiss on my forehead. Cloud also kisses my forehead, then sits back and cups his hands around my face.

"Are you okay? What happened?" He asks worriedly.

"I'll be fine." I say quietly.

"Come on, we have to get out of here now. Angeal and Genesis can't hold the gates open forever." Sora reminds us.

"Where exactly would you go?"

Everyone whips around at Sephiroth's voice and the devil is flanked by Xemnas and Riku as he walks into the room. "I'll find all of you and kill you one-by-one, no matter where you hide." He continues.

Cloud's eyes narrow and he gets to his feet. "It's over Sephiroth. I'm not going to let you destroy Roxas."

"You think you can stop me?" Sephiroth asks, quirking an eyebrow.

Cloud suddenly shoots forward, a sword appearing in his hands as he runs towards Sephiroth. The silverette summons his own sword to block Cloud's and then, with great strength, pushes him off and into the opposite wall.

Reno quickly summons his own two swords and charges forward to battle Sephiroth. Demyx, Zexion, and Zack share a look and then run to fight Xemnas while Sora, Kairi, and Xion take on Riku.

Namine kneels next to Axel and rests her hand on my cheek. "He took most of your soul didn't he?" She asks me.

I glance at Axel before I nod. "Yeah."

"Namine, stay with him, I have to go help Reno and Cloud fight Sephiroth." Axel says, starting to climb to his feet.

I grab his hand and pull him back down. "Ax, you have to take what's left of my energy. There's no way you're going to be strong enough to beat him otherwise." I tell him.

His eyes widen. "But Rox, that'll kill you."

"It's probably for the best anyways." I say.

"No, I'm not going to do that Roxas. There's no way in hell I ever will." He protests.

"You promised to protect me. The only way you can is by destroying Sephiroth." I tell him, knowing that's my trump card.

He looks at Namine, who looks down at me.

"You both know it's true." I say.

She looks back at Axel and nods. He turns to the fight with Sephiroth. Reno is currently down and Cloud is barely standing.

He looks back at me and tears are in his eyes. And this is Axel we're talking about. He bends his head until our foreheads and noses are touching.

I smile and reach up my hand to rest it on his cheek. "I'm glad that I get to say goodbye and tell you that you were right. I love you."

He manages a small smile but it almost as quickly fades. "I love you too Roxy." He leans in all the way and kisses me.

Axel

When Roxas stops kissing back, I can feel his soul within me, and the light is immense. I can feel control settling over me, the demon part of me being tamed. I open my eyes and pull back, holding the back of Roxas' head. His eyes are closed and his skin is already paling.

I let one more tear roll down my cheek and then look up at Namine. "Watch him." I tell her.

She nods and pulls his head onto her lap. I climb to my feet and turn to Sephiroth, who has Reno by the hair and is standing behind me. He throws my brother aside, a smirk on his lips.

"My, my, my, Axel. I never thought you would kill him." He scolds.

Fire ignites in my eyes and begins to burn around me. "You disgust me, thinking you can manipulate people the way you do. You've been lucky, getting your way, up until now at least. I'm powerful enough to stop you and I'm not going to waste this chance." I run forward, my chakrams appearing in my hand. I move so fast that Sephiroth blinks in surprise and I land a powerful hit to him. He flies back and into the wall, leaving a crater. He looks up, eyes narrowed at me.

"Roxas could manipulate his powers better than anyone thought. Love and happiness renewed his strength and he gave me all the light he had, enough to beat you with. You're finished Sephiroth." I rush forward again faster than he can blink and begin striking him from every angle. I can feel him growing weaker, but I am too. I don't have much time left.

I land one more hit and then I skid to a stop, turning back to him and aiming my arm at him. Someone with natural light could use Roxas' light better, but this will have to do. A sphere of light forms in my palm and Sephiroth sees it, making his eyes widen. I see the green orbs flick to the side and I notice that he glanced at Roxas and Namine. He suddenly takes off towards them and I run after him.

Cloud suddenly appears in front of his brother and Namine and thrusts forward, his sword appearing in his hand just as Sephiroth gets to him, making the metal weapon successfully tear through his chest.

The blonde stares at Sephiroth coldly, and said man is gawking. I skid to a stop next to Cloud. "Go to fucking hell Sephiroth." Cloud says, pulling his sword out of Sephiroth.

The silverette gapes and then diminishes into smoke, dissolving into the air.

I look over to see Zack stab Xemnas and then Reno slices off Riku's head. Thank you bro! No one makes a move on Roxas… Roxas! I swivel to face Namine and drop to the ground next to Roxas again. She looks up at me and I see tears streaming down her cheeks.

Cloud kneels next to me and pulls Roxas into his arms, brushing his bangs back out of his face. Tears begin to fall from his eyes.

I look down at Roxas' face, noting how serene he looks.

Everyone else joins us and Reno rests a hand on my shoulder. I can see tears forming in his eyes as well. Demyx cries into Zexion's shoulder and the bluenette is barely holding himself together as well. Sora and Kairi are wrapped in an embrace, both crying. Xion kneels next to Namine and wraps her girlfriend in a hug, both of them sobbing. Zack rests a hand on Cloud's shoulder, tears glistening in his eyes as well.

I look back down at Roxas again and grab his hand in mine. My tears begin to drip onto his soft skin and I clutch his hand tighter. _"Roxas, I hope you can still hear me. I'm so sorry that it took you dying to destroy Sephiroth, but you're safe now. We all love you. I love you Roxy."_ I bring his hand up to my lips and lightly brush them against his knuckles. I find that I can't even kiss him anymore.

I close my eyes and leave my lips on his knuckles, my tears beginning to fall faster. _"Please Roxas; you know I can't live without you, especially not for eternity. Come back."_

I feel another hand rest on my shoulder and I know it's Cloud this time, but I don't open my eyes to look at him. I'm shaking now and I can feel my heart breaking into tiny pieces, like a pain I've never felt before, and now I know what Roxas felt like when his parents died right in front of his eyes.

I feel a hand grip mine and I'm suddenly tempted to just get up and leave to get away from all the touchy-feely-ness but then I realise that it's my hand that's holding onto Roxas'. I open my eyes just in time to see him glowing with light that is being fed by everyone's own light. When the light fades, he opens his beautiful blue eyes and smiles at me, gripping my hand tighter.

Everyone else notices that he's moving suddenly.

"Roxas?" Cloud asks in shock.

He slowly sits up and hugs his brother. "Don't kill Axel, he saved me again. Well, technically, all of you did. Turns out my powers let me rejuvenate my own light with yours if your love for me is strong enough." He pulls away from his brother and turns to me.

I'm still in shock though and I can barely think. "But… How?" I ask.

He smiles. "The same way you got so powerful you idiot." I smirk as he leans in closer and rests his hand over my cheek. "I love you."

I grin and pull us both to our feet before I bend down to kiss him. He's shocked for a moment but he kisses back. He's suddenly pulled away when Demyx wraps him in a death grip hug.

"Oh my god Roxas! You scared us! We thought you were dead and we were all sad but you really weren't dead and…"

Roxas hugs Demyx back just as tightly, effectively shutting up the blonde. "I missed you too Dem."

Zexion smirks and joins in on the hug.

Roxas then turns to Sora and Kairi and hugs them, then Namine and Xion, kissing them both on their foreheads. He turns to Reno next, kissing him on the cheek before hugging him.

I momentarily fume at that but Reno doesn't do his normal perverted thing so I wonder if he's going to give up Roxas without a fight.

Roxas then turns to Zack, who wraps him in a tight hug and picks him up off the ground. "If you ever plan on dying and then coming back to life again, please let us know." The ravenette says.

Roxas chuckles. "I'll keep that in mind." He pulls away from Zack and turns to his brother. They gather into an embrace. "I love you Cloud."

"I love you too Roxas." Cloud tells his brother, pulling back just enough to kiss him on the forehead.

I pull Roxas away from him and into me. "Okay, everyone else got their feel good moments, now it's my turn." I say.

He smiles and reaches up to kiss me, wrapping his arms around my neck. I wrap my arms around his waist and kiss him back, just for him to pull away, smirking. "I'd never forget you Axel."

I frown. "Tease."

"Get a room you two." Kairi remarks, making everyone laugh.

I wrap my arm around Roxas' shoulder and bend down to whisper to him. "I love you so much."

He quickly turns and pecks me on the nose. "I love you."

Roxas

Thanks to all the people who can fly, we get back to Japan quickly. Zack decides we should have a celebration so we quickly go out and grab party supplies and set everything up in the backyard at Cloud and mine's house. We crank up some music and everyone starts dancing, even Angeal and Genesis.

I try to hang out a little with everyone, but Axel keeps pulling me away, and although I'm a little mad at him for not letting me talk to my friends after I nearly die, I can't complain.

I'm in the middle of talking to Namine and Xion when Axel picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.

"Sorry ladies, I'm kidnapping him." Axel tells them.

I sigh and shake my head, giving them an apologetic wave, but I'm smiling too. They make kissy faces at me and then give me thumbs up.

Axel takes me inside this time and up to my room, where he finally sets me down.

I fold my arms, grinning at him. "You're not tired of me yet?" I ask.

"Tired of you? Never. I just want some time with my boyfriend." He says innocently.

I chuckle and wrap my hand around the back of his neck, reaching up and at the same time pulling his head down to kiss him. He kisses me back quickly and then pulls away, leaving me confused. He grabs my one hand that's still at the back of his neck and I see him reach into his pocket with his free hand. I stare up at him confusedly and he looks kind of weird, for Axel.

He finds whatever he's digging for in his pocket and clenches his fist to hide it, but then he gets down on one knee and my heart picks up when I hope that I'm sure about what it is. "Roxas, when you died, I realised that I wouldn't be able to live without you, and I hope that, with what you said before, we know each other well enough that you're ready to commit to this. Well, since you told me you love me then I guess you are, but, anyways, I want to spend the rest of our supernaturally long lives together."

He pauses to reveal the ring that I had hoped was there in his other hand and I can feel tears cascading down my cheeks. "Roxas Strife, will you marry me? Whenever you're ready, you don't have to right away, I mean, you are fourteen after all so…"

I cut him off by kissing him, then pull back to see him looking flabbergasted. I smile. "Axel, we've got forever remember? Age doesn't matter so much anymore. So, yes… Yes!" I pitch myself into his arms and he laughs, getting to his feet and holding me off the ground as he spins me.

My bedroom door is suddenly throw open and all of our friends run inside, hugging us and congratulating us, the little spies.

"Whoa, hold on guys; make sure he doesn't lose the ring." Zexion reminds everyone.

"Oh, right." Axel grabs my hand again and slides the gold ring onto my ring finger.

"Aw, now you two have to kiss." Namine coos.

I turn to Axel and we wrap our arms around each other, pulling into a passionate kiss. Everyone cheers and Axel and I pull apart when we need air, leaving our foreheads resting against each other's. We both simultaneously smile.

"I love you Foxy Roxy." He says.

I smirk and shake my head slightly. "I love you too Axey."

He grins smugly and dips me slightly, leaning in to kiss me again. I tangle my hands in his hair and kiss him back.

Okay, so literally running into Axel at school was the best thing that ever happened to me. Sephiroth is dead, Cloud and I are safe, I have the best friends ever, and I have my one true love for eternity. Cheesy, but perfect, and I'm never letting go of this.

****

**Thank you again everyone and don't forget to review! Maybe if I can think of an idea there could be a sequel? Nothing is promised yet though!**


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